Nakhumicha stands firm, gives interns three options

Medical interns will be posted in groups and paid Sh206,400 per month, the Ministry of Health has said.

CS Susan Nakhumicha said 552 interns will be stationed first and the remaining 658 will be evaluated for deployment later, subject to additional funding.

"With the allocated funds, the Ministry will post at least 552 interns immediately, followed by the rest as more resources become available, which would be indefinite," she said.

At least 1,210 interns were hired in April with a monthly stipend of Sh70,000, but the doctors' union quickly filed a petition with the Labour Court, requesting a review of the proposed sum. The matter will be heard on September 26.

Nakhumicha said delays in intern deployment will harm all health cadres and not just medical trainees.

“So far numerous meetings have been held with good progress made towards achieving consensus. Of note is that both parties agree on the need for the interns to be posted without further delay. The latest of these meetings, which ran through the weekend, explored various options,” she said.

The government is required by law to pay stipends to all nursing, clinical officers, pharmacy, dental and medical interns while they intern for one year.

Nakhumicha said it is impractical to pay interns Sh206,400 a month since the cost of internship has steadily surpassed the available funds. She previously said other public service interns earn Sh25,000 per month.

The CS said over the past 20 years, there has been an "exponential increase" in the number of public and private educational facilities that teach medical professionals.

She said since January last year, the ministry has posted 4,156 interns across six medical cadres, including 1,735 doctors. This has cost the government Sh4.2 billion.

“As of today, the total number of interns awaiting posting across [all] the cadres is 3,760, for a total budget of Sh4.8 billion. Because of the budget ceiling, the ministry received an allocation of Sh3.7 billion in the financial year 2024/2025 for internship,” Nakhumicha said.

Following a 56-day strike, members of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union reached a return-to-work formula agreement on May 8. The agreement was to address the 1,210 medical intern postings. Disputes over pay scales remained, though.

The government cited financial restrictions and proposed a stipend of Sh70,000 per month, as recommended by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, whereas the union argued for the 2017 collective bargaining agreement rate of Sh206,400 per month.

The current standoff was caused by the union's legal action to challenge this ruling.

KMPDU secretary general Davji Atellah, none of the three ideas put forth by the ministry received unanimous support.

“Batch posting was not an option, therefore, doctors could not be posted based on graduation dates or limited to those who were admitted through the Joint Admissions Board," he said.

Atella said the government threatened to cancel any further talks if the interns keep staging protests outside Afya House.

“We need to reassess our plans, get new insights and decide how to proceed. We will meet with the national advisory council as KMPDU and determine our course of action from there," he said.