Allowances for Diploma Clinical Interns

The issue of giving Diploma Intern Clinical Officers allowances is just about to be finalized,Chairman Kenya Clinical Officers Association Albert Taiti has said
Taiti said the interns across the country should continue discharging their duties as the issue of their delayed allowances was being addressed.
He said while the hardships the interns were experiencing was not in doubt, they should be patient as the matter was just about to be finalized.
The chairman said the interns numbering about 2000 in the country have not been paid their allowances since May 2019 when they were deployed to various public hospitals.
“The allowances have been factored in this year 2019/2020 budget and given the bureaucratic process involved they should just be patient,’’ he said
Tiati was reacting to issues raised by the Diploma students across the country that their undergraduate colleagues were receiving their allowances while those taking diplomas were not.
The students had threatened to down their tools should the government fail to address their plight which they said left them suffering and unable to perform their duties as expected.
Through their Secretary General Alex Orina, the Interns on Wednesday threatened to down their tools citing economic hardships they were experiencing while on duty.
Orina said his members were living in privately rented quarters and were also expected to fend for themselves, yet no allowances were forthcoming.
He said the interns were just like any other human beings with various financial needs and obligations. “How does the government expect us to survive while serving in these public hospitals,”Orina said
The trade Unionist said the Interns should even be grateful that the government had reinstated the allowances which were stopped seven years ago after graduate Nurses and Clinical Officers joined the scheme of service.
He said only Graduate Clinical Officers and Nurses have been receiving these allowances but after many months of intense lobbying the government had factored the money during this financial year.
He added that the allowances will vary due to the difference in academic qualifications as is the practice in all government employment terms.
Wednesday, Orina had assembled several of the interns at a Kerugoya hotel where they expressed the financial difficulties they were coping with yet they were serving in various public hospitals.
By Irungu Mwangi