President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked health workers to end their strike and give room to ongoing talks to resolve their grievances.
President Kenyatta, who was accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto, announced that a solution will be found on the health workers salary issue but lamented the death of close to 20 patients.
“Let us be human and be mindful of the lives of the patients. I am confident that we will find a solution to the problem,” President Kenyatta told the health workers, saying even when an agreement is reached "those lives will have been lost".
The President was speaking today at Makindu in Makueni County after he commissioned the Kenya Medical Training Centre (KMTC) Makindu campus and launched medical equipment at Makindu Sub-County Hospital.
The Head of State said governors and the Ministry of Health have been working round the clock for weeks, engaging the unions to resolve the matter and called on the health workers not to allow lives to be lost because of an issue that is being addressed.
President Kenyatta also pointed out that if counties focused more keenly on health and agriculture, a lot more would be achieved.
The President said over Ksh1 trillion has been allocated to counties since 2013.
On infrastructure, President Kenyatta said his administration will continue implementing projects that will attract investors to create jobs for the youth.
He said the national government is keen on partnering with county governments in projects that benefit Kenyans, citing the trauma centre at Makindu Sub-County Hospital as an example of cooperation between the two levels of government.
The President said the Government has invested Ksh 400 million in medical equipment at the Makindu hospital.
He lauded the establishment of the Makindu Medical training Centre, saying training institutions are key in producing staff who will improve the health of Kenyans.
Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana thanked President Kenyatta for launching the medical equipment at Makindu Sub-County Hospital.
The Governor said the state-of-the-art equipment will go a long way in boosting the health facility’s capacity to provide health services to residents of Makueni and people using the Mombasa – Nairobi highway.
Prof. Kibwana appealed to the national government to come up with a marshall plan for provision of water in Ukambani. He proposed increased construction of water dams and water pans to alleviate the water shortage in the region.
Other speakers included Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua and area Member of Parliament Patrick Musimba.