YVONNE’S TAKE: Is it better to be a doctor or a Chief Administrative Secretary?

Let us live within our means. That has been the rallying call from our government to its citizens. Tonight, I ask though, who is supposed to live within their means; is it some of us or all of us? It is ironic that right in the middle of a protracted battle over some arguably legitimate industrial questions by the doctors of this country, Parliament has sprung up a law seeking to revalidate the illegalised position of Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS).

Not only has it passed the law, but that law has been assented to by the President. Just to remind each other, the courts of law struggled with the whole idea of a CAS, a position that in the opinion of the court appeared like a mix of the nostalgic return to the position of Assistant Minister and an outright imposition of a strange category between the office of Cabinet Secretary and that of Principal Secretary. And let me also remind you that the court struggled with the reporting lines as well.

The irony doesn’t stop there. In the middle of this protracted battle that is now in its 43rd day, a quick reminder that the sticking point remains that of the pay of intern doctors. The doctors are asking for the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to be honoured, which states that the intern doctors be paid a salary of Ksh.206,000. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has termed the doctors’ demands as unfair, unsustainable and inequitable.

However, there was nothing unfair, unsustainable or inequitable, about the proposals the very same commission made regarding the CASs salaries. The commission has recommended a monthly salary of Ksh.780,000 a month; an amount even higher than that of Members of Parliament. The remuneration also includes an attractive annual medical cover that includes Ksh.10 million in-patient, Ksh.300,000 outpatient, Ksh.75,000 maternity, Ksh.150,000 dental, and Ksh.75,000 optical cover.

Now let us compare and contrast this. The intern doctors receive about half the dental and optical cover the CASs would, based on that proposal. What’s more, while the CASs could receive Ksh.10 million in-patient cover, the intern doctors receive only aKsh.1 million. Never mind that they are at greater risk of contracting diseases and illness due to the nature of their work. The same SRC proposes an outpatient cover of Ksh.300,000 for CASs but only gives intern doctors Ksh.100,000.

Now, what was that about being fair, sustainable and equitable? Alright, for the mathematicians in the room, you will tell me that this is a matter of scale, right? That we have 1,400 intern doctors in the country, vs fewer CASs, let’s say 50, going by the last set that we had. But I will remind you that the chair of SRC said that that perks and remuneration also depend on input factors, processes and the impact of the job, now I will let you be the judge about the impact of CASs vs intern doctors.

And so tonight, I am left wondering why anyone should choose a long route when a shorter one works even better. Why would anyone spend 6 years in school and then another 43 days or even 100 days on the streets to fight for a Ksh.200,000 salary, when you can just run for election, lose, get appointed CAS and voila, get over 3 times the salary. Sounds like a uniquely Kenyan cruel irony of life. In fact, my mind has jogged far back, to the days of our lower primary school debates. Remember debate questions like, it is better to be a farmer than a policeman? So how about we fashion a debate today, let’s term it as it is better to be a CAS than a doctor.

Here would be my closing remarks: Tembea aste aste uvuke kwa upande wetu wa sakafu utuunge kwa mjadala wetu usemao, it is better to be a CAS than a doctor. Ahsanteni!