•Mengich said the commission's advice was based on the principles of affordability, sustainability, fairness and equity
•SRC Chairperson,Mengich said Sh206,000 is the entry point pay of a doctor who have completed their internship.
Image: LEAH MUKANGAI
Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) chairperson Lynn Mengich has explained the reason behind the advice that medical be paid a Sh70,000 stipend.
Mengich on Tuesday said the commission's advice that the figure be revised downwards from the previous Sh206,000 to Sh70,000 was based on the principles of affordability, sustainability, fairness, and equity.
"There are two reasons we have looked at. The first one is affordability and fiscal sustainability; can the country sustain to pay higher than that amount?" she posed.
Mengich was speaking during an interview at Citizen TV.
However, she noted that those interns who are currently earning a different amount will not be affected by the current changes.
Mengich said SRC gave the advisory pursuant to its constitutional mandate.
She said the constitution gives the commission the mandate to advise on remuneration in any money that is paid out of public funds.
"The first principle is that the wage bill must be fiscally sustainable, so we are bound by that," Mengich said.
"Therefore when circumstances in the country speak to the fact that you cannot afford then we will be abdicating our responsibilities by advising anything differently," she added.
According to Mengich, there has been an increase in the number of graduates and healthcare professionals graduating from various colleges and universities over the years.
With the rising numbers and considering future sustainability, it is not financially feasible to continue paying them higher salaries.
Mengich emphasized the principles of fairness and equity, stating that the highest-paid intern in the government currently receives sh25,000.
"You can't take interns and give another category a salary because Sh206,000 is actually the entry point pay of a doctor who have completed their internship. The fact that it happened in the past does not make it right," she said.
The chairperson highlighted that what is happening is not a reduction since those affected are interns who have just graduated from university hence are not earning any amount.
"The first thing is to clarify that there is no reduction because you cannot reduce what you don’t have," she said.
"What we have set is a new stipend for interns that are just being posted so the issue about reduction is not correct because you only reduce what you already have," she clarified.
Acting Health DG Patrick Amoth last week said unlike 10 years ago when only the University of Nairobi was the only medical institution churning out 90 to 100 graduates per year, there currently exist 12 medical training institutions today.
He noted that these institutions currently churn out close to 1,000 graduates mostly due to the module II programme.
Despite the high numbers, the resources allocated to the ministry remain the same, Amoth said.
"Resources allocated to the ministry have not been in tandem with the increased number of graduands coming out of the training institutions and the sudden surge of graduands from these medical schools is because of the module two programme," Amoth said.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union chairperson Abi Mwachi has maintained that the government must honour the 2017-21 Collective Bargaining Agreement in totality.
He said the release of the Sh2.4 billion by the government is meant to cement what he termed as illegal salary cuts for junior doctors.