NANDI COUNTY ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL REPORT

Transcription

1 NANDI COUNTY ASSEMBLY 1 OFFICIAL REPORT Wednesday, 28 th February, 2018 The House met at 2:30 pm The Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony) in the Chair PRAYER QUORUM Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Can the Clerk confirm if we have quorum. (The Clerk confirmed that quorum was insufficient) Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): The Sergeant-at-arms to ring the bell for five minutes. (The Clerk confirmed that quorum was sufficient) PAPER LAID KAPSABET MUNICIPAL CHARTER Hon. Chemutai: I wish to table today 28 th February 2018, the Kapsabet Municipal Charter from the Devolved Units and Special Programs Committee. I beg to table. Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): The report on the Kapsabet Municipal Charter from the Devolved Units and Special Programs Committee has been tabled. It is committed to the House Business Committee for time of discussion to be allocated. STATEMENT Hon. Muge Cynthia: I rise to seek a statement on site construction billboard. Pursuant to Standing Order 45(1) (C) I seek a statement from Chairperson Transport and Infrastructure Committee; why are construction of bill boards in the County bearing the name H.E Stephen Sang whether that is the best practice and in accordance with the law. If it is per the law why are the names of the ward representatives not included? Thank you. Hon. Sing oei: Ahsante na nashukuru sana. Nafikiri jambo lililoletwa na Mheshimiwa kutoka Kilibwoni ni muhimu. Tulikuwa Kisumu na tumechukua hatua kuhusu hayo na tutajibu wiki ijayo. Tumejumuisha kwenye ripoti, tutafaa kuhusisha Mheshimiwa wa Wadi kwasababu hataonekana kama anafanya kazi iwapo hatahusishwa.

2 2 Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): How soon do you expect to respond? Hon. Sing oei: Wiki ijayo. Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): So the report that will be tabled will include and not limited to the statement sought by Hon. Muge Cynthia, failure to which we will consult and make a decision after consulting with the Member from Kilibwoni. Thursday next week that is. MOTION INCORPORATION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH VO LUNTEERS INTO THE EPARTMENT OF HEALTH Hon. Koech Gideon: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I rise to move a Motion on Incorporation of Community Health Volunteers into the Department of Health. Aware that health is a devolved function under section two, part two of the fourth schedule to the Kenyan Constitution, further aware that the County Government has not incorporated community health volunteers into the department of health, considering that community health volunteers are part of an important network across Kenya working to provide health education and services to families who may not otherwise have access to care, noting that community health volunteers recognize the importance of family planning for health and nutrition of mothers and children and the broader economic and social challenges their neighbors face in their day-to-day lives, cognizant that community health workers need to be empowered financially by County Government to be able to run income generating activities to sustain objectives of community health volunteers, this House therefore urges the County Executive to put up measures and mechanism to incorporate the community health volunteers in the department of health. I brought this Motion because I attended a training in my ward. The said unit consisted of 25 community health volunteers, covering two locations, the motive has since been used to give out information on behalf of the ministry even before the County Government came into place. They have been trained on health issues and are occasionally called to do certain aspects. Sometimes they are paid after some duties, their work continues to uphold good practices and they advise residents on good health practices ensuring each home has pit latrines and such like issues. This has helped improve health status in the village. My prayer is that we approve this Motion and urge the executive to make a framework policy mechanism to ensure the volunteers are incorporated and engaged in the health department as part of healthcare workers. There is another component we have not captured, that is the donor support that train for self-reliance. I visited one unit which was talking about registering a group. They call it community health group, one is in my ward. We have one community health group. Every dispensary has to have a community health unit, the locations in our County should register an organization that ensures consistent way of reaching out to the community. I urge my colleagues that part of the recommendation is for them to be given a stipend monthly. Makueni County have these units and they have ensured the volunteers have a stipend because they are important. If that won t be the case, they be incorporated in health groups, empowered to do income generating activities like other women and groups---

3 3 (Off-record) We urge the County Executive to register them and use the youth groups to teach on matters nutrition and income generating activities. This will help growth health wise like how to take care of the newborns and keep guidelines on children growth. Recently, we had a report showing the nutrition status and Turkana beat us Nandi, this is where we need to be ambassadors, the level of nutrition should be improved. We will have a chief in charge of promoting healthcare. We need Sally the CO in charge of health to take on community volunteers back in our villages to be able to improve health, we should introduce short term programs to add quality and training. With free maternity we still have some delivering at home, to improve on this, this is the team that will help do it, we will achieve a lot with this team by ensuring mothers deliver in our facilities. We will make sure we achieve--- Hon. Kipkemboi is saying the power interruption is sending a signal but I will continue let s not think in that line, this is important, we can use them as ambassadors to have all mothers visit our facilities, antenatal and prenatal care. Lastly, the health units will serve wananchi we will have a healthy wealthy society. I call Hon. Muge to second. (Hon. Muge Cynthia bowed second) (Question proposed) Hon Kipkemboi: Nashukuru kwa hii fursa, kuna shida katika sekta ya matibabu kwa sababu ya fedha. Kaunti imetoa shilingi bilioni 1.6, ilhali sekta hii inahitaji pesa nyingi. Katika wadi ya Kapsabet kuna zahanati tatu na wafanyikazi watatu, inahitaji watatu zaidi. Naona tunahitaji pesa zaidi, naona wahudumu hao wafanye huduma hizo bila malipo. Tuna barabara na itatushinda kutengeneza hata madarasa. Huu utakuwa mzigo mkubwa sana. Kulingana na sheria, lazima tuwe na pesa ndio hoja iweze kutekelezwa vizuri. Hoja ni nzuri lakini Kaunti haina pesa. Nani atagharamia? Wakati ule tulipitisha hoja nyingi lakini hayakutekelezwa. Wakati huu kwanza tuone jambo litagharimu fedha kiasi gani--- Shilingi elfu tatu ni nyingi kwasababu kila wadi itahitaji. Hii ni kazi nzuri lakini inahitaji tufikirie kwa makini kwanza. (Hon. Koech Gideon on a point of information) Hon. Koech Gideon: I rise to inform Hon. Kipkemboi that from this Motion, we urge the Executive to put up measures to incorporate volunteers. We have not said they should earn salaries.

4 4 We want a good structured registered group of volunteers so that when we have short term programs they are the first to be involved. We will have funds for the short term programs, we can do a supplementary budget and have money allocated if we feel it should. We should not be tied if we feel there is a pressing matter. I thought well unless he has a different view, we need no large amounts of money. This Motion in any way is not saying we should have some bigger amount on it. Hon Kipkemboi: Mheshimiwa hakufikiria vizuri. Nimeona ukurasa wa pili, kuna mahali imeandikwa empowered financially yeye haelewi. Kuweka mkakati ina mpangilio kuwa wanakutana na vile watafanya kazi inahitaji pesa ya chakula, hata ya viongozi wao, tutaongeza gharama. Sijakataa, naona kwa maoni yangu naona itaongeza gharama katika sekta ya afya. Serikali itashindwa kufanya kazi zingine kama kununua madawa ya kutosha kwa vile gharama hiyo iko juu. Kuna vitu umetaja ni vizuri lakini tutahitaji usaidizi wa wafadhili hata kutoka nchi za nje. Asante sana Mhe. Spika. Hon. Sanga: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I also stand to support the Motion and I thank Hon. Koech Gideon for this important Motion. Community health workers play a vital role especially in public health and sanitation in our villages. It is through them that we can avoid bush defecation by ensuring that each and every family has a toilet. It is through them that this can be achieved. The volunteers play a vital role in the villages in ensuring the people infected with HIV and AIDS take their medication because they have the information. They know each other and they are the ones who encourage them and remind them of the importance of taking their medication. They are the people in villages and they understand our community so they are in a good position to understand well our mothers in the village especially teaching them on family planning issues, they can understand well--- (Hon. Kipkemboi on a point of information) Hon. Kipkemboi: Mhe. Spika, ningependa kumjulisha Mhe. Sanga kuwa wanaosaidia waathiriwa wanaoishi na virusi vya ukimwi ni wahudumu wa kampuni ya DANIDA na wanalipwa kufanya kazi hiyo na wafadhili. Tusiongezee serikali ya Kaunti mzigo wa kifedha, ipo wanaofanya na wanapata malipo yao. Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Hon. Sanga you are informed. Hon. Sanga: Thank you for the information but I would like to continue--- (Laughter) The volunteers are in our villages and they give us very important information especially issues concerning health that can help a lot in decision making by the Executive. They also promote mother-child-health by teaching our mothers and encouraging them to go to hospital for pre-natal and post-natal care hence improving fetal and child mortality. The net effect of these volunteers will be cost effective by promoting public health by teaching our mothers. It is important that we

5 5 have these community health workers. We should not worry about money, let us worry about the health of our people. Otherwise I support the Motion, thank you Mr. Speaker. Hon. Chepkwony Philip: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Let me thank Hon. Koech Gideon for coming up with this Motion. The said community health workers will help us a lot. I understand as a representative of Jubilee Party, the party gave us its four agenda and one is health. Nandi being one of the Counties that strongly supports Jubilee Party we must implement the health agenda by our party. The said community health workers will help us a lot by collecting data and relaying information from the ground to the policy makers. It will assist in making informed policy making. From the report from Health and Sanitation Committee, it touched on universal health care, these are the people who will help us roll individuals into health insurance plan. These health workers coming from different communities and villages will help us get unique needs of different villages because the needs are different and varying. Community health workers will help us create a link between the vulnerable population and the healthcare systems. I am in agreement with Hon. Koech Gideon that we need to urge the health sector to incorporate the community health volunteers. I totally support thank you. Hon. Komen: Thank you Mr. Speaker. First of all I really want to thank Hon. Koech Gideon for bringing this Motion. Personally I would say it is a good Motion but it should be an idea on conception so delivery should be in some years to come basically because we have public health workers. Basically what the volunteers should be doing is what is being done today by the public health officials who are employed by our County. In my view we need to strengthen the public health department in our County and wait for the baby to be born in some years to come of community health volunteers, thank you. Hon. Ng etich: Thank you Mr. Speaker, mine will be--- These people are in the field already, what we want is them to be incorporated. What I wanted to ask is have they been working in isolation--- That term implies that they are there to volunteer their services. It is up to the health department to see what it can do about these volunteers. If they can be paid little amount of money that will be fine because according to the definition it seems they are there to offer these services voluntarily. I support if they have been working--- Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Hon. Ng etich if you are seeking clarification you should seek clarification and wait for the response before you proceed. Hon. Ng etich: Thank you Mr. Speaker, let the chairman or the mover of the Motion clarify that first so that I can proceed. Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Order Hon. Ng etich! When you seek that clarification you do not call on a Member to respond, you seek through the Chair. The Chairman of Health and sanitation Committee can clarify then we can come back to the mover of the Motion.

6 6 Hon. Sanga: I think currently they are not paid by the Government that is why we are wishing that they be paid some amounts in order to motivate them. (Hon. Ng etich stood in his place) Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Order Hon. Ng etich! You enquired two questions. Hon. Koech Gideon respond to the other. Hon. Koech Gideon: Mr. Speaker, I wish to--- To be able to incorporate, you talked of isolation, have they been working in isolation? The answer is no! They have been working with the health department but the bit of trying to encourage them, putting them in groups and have stipend, is what we are trying to analyze and debate as a House. (Hon. Sing oei stood in his place) Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Order Hon. Sing oei! Before we continue Hon. Members, let me recognize the presence of one of the rare members of the society Rodgers Too at the Speaker s gallery who is a pilot flying emirates and a son of this County one of the very rare amongst the first--- (Applause) He hails from Kobujoi Kimaren village and he could be one of the very few pilots in the County. He paid a courtesy call to the Speaker, he is amongst the few who would be interested to know what the County Assembly of Nandi is doing as a member of the society. I am gladly associated with him having studied with him at Jomo Kenyatta University where he left his electrical engineering course midway to pursue piloting. Too you are very much welcomed and we appreciate your courtesy call to the Speaker s office. (Applause) Hon. Ng etich: Thank you Mr. Speaker, for the clarifications made by the Chairman of Health and Sanitation Committee and the mover of this Motion. I now want to contribute to this Motion. What I know is that some of these volunteers are in the Ward I represent but what I can say personally is that they are no longer volunteering but the health department have engaged these volunteers to do it as full time job on behalf of the health department. Some of them have been assigned duties to work in some of these facilities that we have that is the dispensaries and I came to learn that these volunteers were engaged by the donors like DANIDA and recently when I tried to enquire from them, it is that for the last one and half years they have not been paid probably because the previous Government diverted funds meant for their payments. Even though the health department are using these volunteers to provide the services on behalf of the nurses, they have not been paying them. So in my opinion, first before we incorporate, the County Government

7 7 should pay those volunteers for the services rendered on behalf of the shortage of staff from the department of health. If DANIDA the donor still exists, the County Government should see a way of channeling those funds to the personnel that deserve to be paid because I think the Chairman of Health and Sanitation Committee can also clarify whether those funds are still in existence or not. If not, we can think of ways of trying to facilitate. Thank you Mr. Speaker, that is the end of my contribution though I require that clarification whether those funds will still come or not. Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Hon. Sanga, I think there is something that needs to come out clearly so that it does not bring confusion in the House. It was informed by Hon. Kipkemboi on the issue of DANIDA funds. I do not know if Hon. Sanga intended to talk about the public health workers or community health workers and these DANIDA funds, probably, to clarify clearly the status of DANIDA funds. Hon. Ng etich is talking about people who are still owed by the County. The volunteers who have not been paid for one year I think the Motion is talking of community health workers, let us narrow our discussion to the contents of the Motion. Hon. Sanga: On the enquiry about DANIDA funds, DANIDA funds are still there but it has been reduced greatly and it is not as it was earlier. Hon. Sing oei: Asante Mhe. Spika, kwa kunipa fursa hii. Hoja hii mbele yetu ni nzuri ijapokuwa tuna maswali tunayojiuliza kimoyomoyo kwa sababu ni watu ambao wanajitolea kwenye maswala ya afya ya umma. Iwapo mtu amesomea taaluma hiyo, atatakiwa kulipwa. Iwapo kuna upungufu wa wafanyikazi wa afya ya umma wizara ya afya itaangalia jambo hilo na iwapo wapo ambao wamesomea taaluma hiyo wanaweza pewa marupurupu kidogo ili wafanye hiyo kazi. Wazo la kujitolea kufanya kazi bila malipo sioni kama itawezekana labda tu kuwe na malipo kidogo. Asante Mhe. Spika. Hon. Chumba Milka: Thank you Mr. Speaker. This is a good Motion. The volunteers are in the dispensaries. For instance in Chepkemel a dispensary in Kipkaren Ward, they are about four or five, one is working in the lab and there are three other ladies. They are all volunteering but the problem is that they have worked for one year without any payment. If there are some funds, let us pay the arrears first then we can come to this. Thank you. (Hon. Kipkemboi on a point of information) Hon. Kipkemboi: Mhe. Spika napenda kumfahamisha Mhe. Chumba Milcah kuwa hao ni wafanyikazi wa DANIDA, hawafanyi kazi bure. Maoni yangu ni kuwa wanafaa kuondolewa kwa sababu hao ndio wanaoiba madawa katika vituo vyetu vya matibabu. (Laughter) Hon. Chumba Milka: I think if someone has evidence to what Hon. Kipkemboi has said, he or she is free to report and those doing that should be jailed. I am only talking of what I know and in all our Wards we have these people. Yesterday I met an old man who is a watchman and he was telling me of this same issue. He has two children in high school, has not school fees and he has not been paid for one year. The volunteers should be paid but we should pay the arrears first. Thank you.

8 8 Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Let me help on the issue of DANIDA and NHSSF. I think what Hon. Members are referring to on the issue of DANIDA, NHSSF and community health workers should be made clear. Talking from a privileged point of view, the DANIDA funds that we are talking about and the lack of payment for staff for the last one year, those are facility staff, those are people who are already employed, that is clear and I can speak that authoritatively that those are people who are paid under DANIDA funds for facilities. I am looking at the Chairman of Health and Sanitation Committee and I think he was caught off guard by Hon. Kipkemboi by the fact that the DANIDA funds are for every facility registered, they get funds for staff including the watchman. The issue that is in discussion on community health workers is that, these are not people you will find in a facility, they are found within the community instead. They are amongst us, these are the people you will find them rushing to you for help or guidance. The discussion should be people who are not within the facility. I think the Chairman of Health and Sanitation can now be able to clarify further. Members, we are talking about the people who are not employed within the system but they are in the society. That is the information. Hon. Koech Gideon: Mr. Speaker, I do not know if you will allow me to also clarify on the same because as I have said before, when we talk of community health volunteers they are not anywhere near our facilities. The only occasion where they come to our facilities is when they are--- (Hon. Kipkemboi on a point of order) Hon. Kipkemboi: Mhe. Spika, katika Kanuni ya Bunge nambari tisini na nne, je, Mhe. Gideon ana ruhusa kujibu hayo? Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Hon. Gideon you are out of order you will get the chance to respond. Hon. Kiplagat: Mr. Speaker, I rise to give my opinion on this. I think we are giving wrong information here. In our health centers, we do not have volunteers currently especially in my Ward, in Kabiyet health center we do not have the volunteers. The ones we have are the ones who are paid by DANIDA and HFCK and they have not been paid for the last one and half years including the watchman and social workers. By saying that we want to allocate some stipend as Hon. Gideon has suggested, where can we find funds in the budget to allocate these volunteers in order to pay the stipend to them? It is embarrassing that we have employees in the health sector who have not been paid for the last one and half years yet we want to add some more. I support my friend Hon. Koech Gideon on this but to some extent he is saying that we empower them through income generating activities to sustain community health volunteers. Empowering them through income generating activities means we allocate some amount of money which is not captured anywhere in the budget of health. We can amend it to say that they will give their services without any payment. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Hon. Kering: Thank you Mr. Speaker. I am still confused a bit about the role of community health volunteers. I do not think this is an emergency, I do not think it is necessary unless I am talking of

9 9 only my Ward. It is unnecessary expense unless we prioritize to bring the health centers near and employ health workers in the facilities but this one is not necessary as such. Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Hon. Members, looking from the discussions that we are having, I would defer putting question to this Motion and urge the Health and Sanitation Committee to further explain to the Members the difference between public health workers and community health workers. Putting the question for this Motion is deferred to another day. ADJOURNMENT Temporary Speaker (Hon. Kipkurui Chepkwony): Hon. Members, this session is adjourned until the next normal sitting. (The House rose at 3:33 pm)