By Eddah Waithaka
The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) is now calling for the resignation of Health CS Susan Nakhumicha amidst the human resource crisis in the health sector.
The council accused Nakhumicha of mismanaging the strikes by doctors, clinical officers and medical laboratory officers unions, which have left thousands of Kenyans without access to treatment.
The clerics also want the cabinet secretaries for agriculture and transport to resign, following the fake fertiliser scandal and the increase in road deaths in recent months.
Alphonse Kanga, chairman of the NCCK in the Nairobi region, says the wanton suffering being endured by patients in public hospitals should be enough of a reason for the CS to vacate office.
“If I was the Minister of Health at that time, if a person dies in some countries because something is wrong, either they fix it or they go out, it’s simple,” Dr Kanga said.
“It is not the people of my calibre who are suffering, a bishop can afford to go to the Aga Khan Hospital but the grandmother yule yuko mashinani cannot afford it, so we want to see the president talk about it, solve this problem and let people live well in this nation.”
The lobby also called on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to focus on the inculcation of ethics and integrity in the citizenry.
“We have noted with great concern that policies being put in place by Parliament and County Assemblies are choking Kenyans. For instance, the Finance Act has raised taxes to unmanageable levels for traders and consumers,” noted Kanga.
The Council also urged county governments to create a conducive business environment by consolidating and rationalising all fees, levies and licences required by different agencies.
The clergy also expressed concern over Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi’s failure to take action against those involved in the alleged fake fertiliser fiasco.
Kanga accused CS of shielding individuals out to defraud unsuspecting farmers through the government’s fertilizer subsidy programme.
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“Mbolea ilitoka ilipeanwa with the systems that exist, they have the accountability, they know the storekeepers, they have the trucks that transported. The Ministry of Agriculture should not come and tell us ilikuwa ikatembea, they should come and tell us this happened and either so and so has been sacked or he himself has resigned,” said the Reverend.
NCCK officials are also concerned about the rising number of road deaths. Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen says he has a lot of work to do to tame the situation.
By the end of March, more than 1,000 people had died in road accidents. This is much higher than the trend in previous years.
“The rate of accidents in Kenya can be measured by the rate of corruption in this country. We need to join forces with the police, NTSA and all other stakeholders because if these vehicles are doing what they are doing now, it only means that things are out of control,” Kanga said.
