- The revelations emerged when the governor appeared before the panel chaired by Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu.
- The committee pushed the governor to explain why his administration took such a drastic step contrary to the law.
Image: FILE
A Senate committee has put West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin on the spot for revoking the promotion of 1,650 early childhood development education teachers.
The Education committee heard that the teachers had been promoted from contractual to permanent terms on July 18, 2022, by then Governor John Lonyangapuo.
The county public service board confirmed all ECDE teachers as permanent and pensionable a day later and the resolution was to take effect on August 1, 2022.
However, the resolution was suspended by the board on September 21, 2022 days after Kachapin had been sworn into office.
The revelations emerged when the governor appeared before the panel chaired by Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu.
The committee pushed the county boss to explain why his administration took such a drastic step contrary to the law.
Kachapin, however, said that the promotions were done on a political basis by his predecessor. The committee could hear none of it.
“How did the board revoke the same days after confirming the teachers?” Taita Taveta Senator Johnes Mwaruma said.
The governor was on the spot after West Pokot Senator Julius Murgor raised a statement before the Senate over the plight of the ECDE teachers in the county.
He said the tutors have been complaining of poor remuneration, and unfair job groupings where some are classified as clerks yet they are trained teachers.
Senator Murgor pressed the county boss to tell the committee if he also pressured the board to vacate the earlier resolution to promote the teachers to permanent and pensionable terms.
“He is talking about political duress for the promotions, did he also do the same to the board to negate the earlier resolution because it is under his leadership that this is happening?” Murgor said.
Governor Kachapin said the promotions were done by Lonyangapuo just 20 days before the August 9 election in an attempt to win the support of the teachers.
“This was done politically to hoodwink the teachers to vote for him. The Board was under duress and was forced to effect the resolution because of campaigns,” Kachapin said.
Despite revoking the earlier resolution, he added that his administration has budgeted Sh60 million for the promotions in the financial ending June 30, 2025, but under different terms.
“To absorb all of them into permanent and pensionable terms, it requires an additional Sh134.4 million.”
He said the teachers have received their letters but some of them have gone to court to challenge the new terms.
The county has 1,652 ECDE teachers in different cadres where 1,089 are on contract engagement while 563 are casuals.
Another 1,194 are registered with the Teachers Service Commission, while 458 are not yet registered.
“Why revoke an earlier decision and implement it now under different terms if you are also not playing politics?” nominated Senator Peris Tobiko said.
Nominated Senator Margaret Kamar warned Kapachin that the teachers will win against the county should they proceed to court.
The board’s chairperson John Matakou told the committee that they received an advisory on the promotions of the teachers in April 2022.
However, the confirmation was delayed by the late response from the county’s finance department, resulting in the confirmation being done on July 18, 2022.
“After the advisory, we verified the documents and began communicating with the relevant departments as the teachers’ contracts were coming to an end on June 30, 2022 but finance delayed their response,” Matakou said.
He added that the revocation came after the department responded that they had no budget to fully effect the promotions.
This led to the revocation of the promotion letters and the extension of the contracts by 18 months to December 2023.