Coast leaders now call on the government to end the doctor's strike by addressing their concerns.
Likoni MP Mishi Mboko and her Mombasa county counterpart Zamzam Mohamed said the government should spare Kenyans deadly suffering.
Speaking at an iftar dinner organized by EALA MP Hassan Omar at Burhani Sports Club in Mombasa on Sunday, Mboko said the government has all the means to have its way if it is willing.
“Please end this strike. Our people are dying. Our mothers are giving birth on the streets,” Mboko said.
She said the doctors’ demands are not that much compared to their level of education.
“Sit down and have candid talks. Let us increase their salaries just a bit. When two bulls fight, it is we at the grassroots that suffer,” she said.
Her call was supported by Zamzam who called on President Ruto to save the country from the shame of a failing healthcare system and resolve the health crisis in the country.
“It is a shame that our mothers are giving birth on the roadsides. Some emergency cases also come up but have no one to treat them," Zamzam said.
“Talk to them. Tax collection has increased. Pay the doctors so that they can go back to work.”
This comes as President William Ruto maintained that doctors should understand that there is a limit to what the government can spend on their salaries and allowances.
Speaking on Sunday during a church service at Africa Inland Church (AIC) Fellowship Eldoret, Uasin Gishu county, Ruto said the government values the work doctors and interns do in the health sector.
However, he said the country cannot continue to live beyond its means.
“The resources we have are only sufficient to pay Sh70,000 for intern doctors. This is not a salary, it is a stipend for only one year. Afterwards, they will be employed,” he said.
The President explained that the government has the funds needed to absorb all the 1,500 doctor interns at Sh70,000 a month.
At the iftar dinner at Burhani Sports Club, former Lunga Lunga MP Khatib Mwashetani defended the government saying there is not enough money to meet the doctors' demands at the moment.
He said the elephant in the room is the interns’ stipend.
“Ten years ago, we used to get between 100 and 300 interns a year, being paid about Sh200,000 a month each. The budget for them was around Sh2.4 billion,” he said.
Today, he noted, there are 1,500 interns a year and if they are to all get what they used to get, it would be a tall budget of Sh24 billion, which he said is untenable at the moment.
He called on the 1,500 interns to heed the government’s call and accept the Sh70,000 a month stipend and help the suffering Kenyans.
“Do not be incited by the doctors who continue receiving their salaries. As an intern, the more you waste time, the more your graduation delays,” he said.
He said the government has promotions and the interns will have their salaries increased gradually and get to the salaries they are now demanding.