County releases July pay for workers

The county government of Kisumu has released July salaries to employees to end the strike which threatened to paralyse services at the devolved unit.
County Executive Committee (CEC) Member in charge of Finance Nerry Achar said the Sh. 300 million arrears shall be remitted to the employees’ accounts starting Thurday.
“Governor Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o following consultations with representatives of the workers has made arrangements to have the salaries paid immediately,” he said.
The move comes after county workers downed their tools on Tuesday following the delayed payments.
The workers accused the county government of failure to remit statutory deductions from May and loans owed to financial institutions.
“The situation was occasioned by a delay in disbursement of funds from the national treasury. We received the money very late and were only able to pay the net salaries,” he said.
Achar assured the workers that the statutory deductions shall be paid immediately funds are released to the counties.
He added that arrangements have been put in place to ensure that the August salary is paid on time.
The CECM who has been accused by the workers for the delay however did not disclose the source of the funds used to pay the salaries.
A source privy to county operations disclosed that the administration has opted for a loan from the bank to quell tensions amongst workers.
The union officials however have vowed to continue with the strike until the money hits the workers accounts. The strike has affected revenue collection, health services among other county functions.
By Chris Mahandara