Siaya — The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) has been accused of frustrating efforts to employ medical personnel to serve Kenyans in public health institutions.
According to Siaya governor, James Orengo, the CRA is always opposed to the employment of doctors, nurses and other medics on the account that doing so would expand the wage bill.
He was speaking at the Siaya county referral hospital during the launch of a weeklong cervical cancer screening campaign, organized by the Lake Region Economic Block (LREB) county first spouses association.
"I always say that a salary given to a doctor or nurse cannot be part of the wage bill" said Orengo adding "all the time, CRA will tell you that you cannot employ doctors because you are expanding your wage bill."
The governor said it was the responsibility of both the national and county governments to ensure that there were enough medical personnel to serve Kenyans.
He said that as part of his commitment to ensure that Siaya residents got the best health care, the biggest share of employment opportunities in the ongoing recruitment drive by Siaya county government will go to medical personnel, adding that the county will also employ one or two oncologists.
Orengo said that his government was putting up a modern surgical centre and intensive care unit that will also act as a training facility for medical personnel.
The governor said there was need for more better equipped health facilities as close to the public as possible, lamenting that more lives are lost when patients travel long distances to seek treatment.
The chairperson of the LREB association of first spouses, Emily Nyaribo called on the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to stop discriminating against cancer patients but treat it as any other disease.
Mrs. Nyaribo said cancer was not anybody's wish and the insurance fund must be pushed to cushion contributors.
She said that LREB first spouses association had chosen to kick Cervical cancer out of the region after studies showed that the region was leading in such cases.
The occasion was attended by Siaya first lady, Betty Orengo and her counterparts from Busia, Kisumu, Bungoma and Kakamega among others.
