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{
    "id": 498649,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/498649/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 339,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wangari",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13123,
        "legal_name": "Martha Wangari",
        "slug": "martha-wangari"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Speaker. I want to start by congratulating the Mover of this Motion. It is a very timely Motion because what we are going through as a country in the health sector is actually a time bomb. When I was a Member of the Committee on Devolved Government, the practitioners had seen this problem quite early. They had seen the signs and they had come to petition the Committee with a proposal on what needs to be done. I know there have been numerous problems. There has been even clamour to get referral hospitals like my colleague Sen. Kiraitu has said in every county. If you cannot secure funding for the few existing referral hospitals that are in the counties today, the budget has been halfed, it would be almost impossible to run 47 referral hospitals. The challenges experienced by the practitioners at the county level are quite serious. They have articulated these issues in the media and even come to the Senate. They are looking upon us to make a decision. In any employment, what you look for is job security, on the job training and being able to have a clear mind when you are working. But today, it has become a political decision on how this will be done at the counties. This is terrible. If we are not able to create confidence in these practitioners, there will be haemorrhage, it has already started. There are opportunities outside this country. These practitioners are taking them because when they look at what they expect at the end of the month, they are not even assured of their salaries. They have committed their salaries to other obligations, maybe a mortgage or a loan that they are paying using the same salary. It is not an assurance any more. How then do we attract other youngsters to join this profession if we are not able to manage the ones that we have? I know a Senator had earlier said that the highest we get in the health centres in some counties is a clinical officer or a nurse. That is the person who is commonly known as daktari because we cannot attract any higher. Either they are retained in Nairobi, as has been said earlier, or they have left. The uncertainty in this sector will drag this whole country down. Madam Temporary Speaker, I know the issue of policy and standards has been left for the national Government. But if you read the Constitution in Article 189, it talks of cooperation between the national and county governments. We must be able to join these two levels of government in working together for the benefit of the country. Article 189(1)(c) states as follow:- “Government at either level shall— ( c ) liaise with government at the other level for the purpose of exchanging information, coordinating policies and administration and enhancing capacity.” What we have suffered these few months, like 19 or 20 months ago since this function went to the counties is that the county governments do not want to be told how to do it. They want to run and be the ones doing the staffing. They do not want the national Government anywhere. We cannot work like that. This function has been in the national Government. We have had our share of problems, but the problems that we are having now are worse than they were when the sector was under the national Government. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}