Sakaja to absorb 1,600 NMS healthcare workers on contract if elected governor

Nairobi Governor aspirant Johnson Sakaja has vowed to absorb 1,600 healthcare workers that were hired on contract by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) if elected into office come August.

Sakaja met health sector officials at his campaign headquarters on Tuesday where they apprised him of the challenges they face and sought to get his commitment to address them once elected.

“Many of the health facilities in Nairobi, including all the new ones that were recently launched are neither staffed nor operational. They were launched at night but the real picture is that they are not serving the public,” Kenya Union of Nurses Nairobi Branch Secretary Boaz Onchari said.

Sakaja, who is vying for the seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket, pledged to absorb the medical staff into the leadership of his administration.

“The sacrifices of health workers is not appreciated enough. You put in so much and receive so little. Health is the most important devolved function and no governor should put health in the periphery,” Sakaja said.