High court bars Kenya from hiring Tanzanian doctors

janet ndila

March 31, 2017 12:46 PM

The government had announced plans to hire more than 500 doctors from Tanzania after a meeting between officials.

KMPDU Chairman Samuel Oroko and Secretary-General Ouma Oluga

The high court has barred the Kenyan government from hiring more than 500 foreign doctors from Tanzanian as earlier planned.

The order was issued following a case filed by Kenyan doctors and the matter will now be mentioned on April 19.

The government had announced plans to hire more than 500 doctors from Tanzania after a meeting between Ministry of Health officials from Kenya led by Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu and President John Magufuli.

However, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) wrote to Tanzania medics requesting them not to report to work until the government addressed their employment concerns.

“The Kenyan doctors have struggled to be employed by the Kenyan government, forcing a number to be rejected due to what the Kenyan government and the ministry of health termed as budget constraints," part of the letter read.

On the other hand, Tanzanian Medical Association (TMA) faulted both Kenya and Tanzania governments on the move of hiring their doctors without consultations.

“It is unfortunate that the two governments have moved on with the plans without consulting us yet the doctors are members of our association,” one of the officials stated.

Doctors recently ended the 100-day strike that had paralysed the country’s public health system after signing an agreement with the government.

As per the agreement, the doctors are set to receive increased allowances as they continue to negotiate with the government over other issues in the CBA.

"We are grateful that this dark page in the history of our country has come to an end," Mr Mailu said after an agreement was reached with the doctors.

janet ndila