• Kenyan nurses have been on strike paralysing operations in hospitals across the country.
•Nyeri is among the four counties piloting UHC. The others are Isiolo, Kisumu and Machakos.
Asked whether the decision was informed by the recent nurses strike, Kahiga said it has been a standard practice to hire not only nurses but even other employees on a contract basis.
He said the decision was informed on the basis that the new generation of employees don't stay in a place for too long.
The decision is said to have been passed in a summit between national and county government officials chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at Sagana State lodge in Nyeri.
However, Kahiga said the new arrangement will not affect those who were employed earlier on a permanent basis.
It will be a three-year contract and will affect new employees who will be coming on board, he said.
“Those who are in service now have their terms and conditions. If you are permanent and pensionable, you will continue until you finish your years of service,” he said
Kahiga said counties have been under pressure from the Controller of Budget to reduce the county wage bill.
He spoke when he accompanied the Health CS Sicily Kariuki on Monday evening to the Nyeri County Referral Hospital ahead of the start of the devolution conference.
The CS had visited the facility to inspect its functions since the launch of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) on December 13 last year.
Nyeri is among the four counties piloting UHC. The others are Isiolo, Kisumu and Machakos.