AFRICANEWS

Kenya

Government should honour agreement

Economy

Even with the country in economic turmoil, Kenyan teachers, demanding the implementation of the second phase of a contentious salary increase, have issued a notice to strike in September. But President Moi's regime is still stalling thus setting the stage for a long battle.

In recent months no love appears to have been lost between the Kenyan government and its more than 260 000 teachers. Last month the teachers went on strike over the tabling in Parliament of a new and contentious Bill seeking to increase the powers of the Minister for Education over the Teachers' Service Commission.
After a three-day stand off, the government agreed to the demand and beat a hasty retreat.But that does not mean the end of the confrontation.
The row comes at a time when the government has come out clean and declared the economy to be in a shambles. It would appear, therefore, that the teachers are being insensitive and unpatriotic in demanding that their salaries be increased. However, what is the real situation?

With the exception of some senior politicians of the ruling party, nearly everybody else in the country has agreed that the teachers' demands are justified. Their demand right now is that the second ,phase of their promised salary increments be implemented. The background to this is that in 1997, the Teachers' Service Remuneration Committee (TORCH) was constituted to look into teachers' salaries and recommend necessary adjustment. This committee, constituted under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, the Government, comprised of senior education officials from the government , the Teachers Service commission (TSC) led by its then secretary Jackson Kang'ali and the officials of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) led by their secretary general Ambrose Adongo.All agreed that teachers be awarded a 200 per cent pay rise. It is recognised that they considered Kenya's economic situation and the erosion of the purchasing power of the shilling.

Upon presentation of their agreement to the then Minister for Education, Mr Joseph Kamotho, the report was shelved and it wasn't until teachers took to the streets last September that it was unearthed, with the minister saying that it was impossible to implement the recommendations and instead was offering a 10- 28 per cent increment! The teachers were riled and declared a national strike aimed at causing the government to implement the recommendations.
Ten days into the strike, the President, Daniel Toroitich arap Moi, intervened by setting up a committee consisting of top government officials and two NUT officials. He gave 24 hours to come up with a solution to the impasse. It was then agreed that the 200 per cent increment be staggered over a period of 5 years, beginning July last year. The teachers were mollified as they sympathized with the Government position of being unable to award 200 per cent in one swoop.

The first schedule was paid. It is this the second that the government is not happy about awarding.
Lucy, 29, a secondary school teacher in a public school says; "The government committed itself. It knew the exact economic situation and if there is no money now to implement the second schedule, they knew it then. They should have projected it! Why then did they agree? The money must be there." She feels that the government may have other reasons - political gimmickry.
Wambui, 33, a teacher too is offended by the constant comparisons of teachers and civil servants. "The government in telling the civil servants that teacher s are being paid more than them, is simply trying to erode public sympathy for the teachers' cause. This will not work because everyone knows the situation of the teachers. Every family countrywide can claim relationship to a teacher and they know how much we get and how much we work! Our demand is justified and the country knows it!"

Samson, 26, a teacher also had this to say: "The issue here now is not just our pay, but the ineptitude of government. People can now see what kind of government we have in place. A government based on lies, a lying government. A government that cannot and should not be trusted to govern. They are behaving as if the treasury suddenly ran dry and they have been hit by the realization that there is no money - six months after reaching an agreement with teachers!"
In all this, some people feel that the teacher has a moral obligation to set a good example to the students and society at large. But one Mr Mwangi, a retired teacher feels that for the teacher to go on strike, he has abdicated his societal role of being a doyen. But 27 year old Edith, also a teacher, disagrees with him and says that it is in fact "the teachers moral responsibility to make the government accountable and disciplined. If we do not do this, we are setting the stage for the government to promise one thing today and go back on it tomorrow! This is not morality. Furthermore, the students and the public understand that the teacher has been oppressed for .so long and is only demanding to be recognised" - "a recognition well deserved," adds Mercy, 28 years.

Jesse, 32 years has this to say. "If strikes are the only language the government understands, then teachers have no choice but to make themselves understood."
Tabitha, 50, a secondary school principal was at pains to ensure that her students understood the teachers moral obligation to demonstrate in July, this year. "They were very understanding and I explained the difference between a "legal" strike such as the teachers demonstration and those destructive ones student engage in."
Edith sums up by saying that it is the government that is mis misbehaving. How? A KNUT official put it very aptly; "we were in a playing field , the government and the teachers, but the teachers have now turned around and found that the government has run away with the goal post! The game cannot continue. We have to leave the playing field and tell society the goal post has been removed!" This statement was a reaction to the realisation that the government intended to sneak a Bill into parliament that would make it impossible for the teachers to press for the implementation of a mutually agreed at increment. Teachers' demonstrating countrywide on July 15-17 forced the government to `suspend' the Bill. The parliamentary opposition also saw to it that the Bill was not tabled - they had vowed to oppose it.

It has been expressed in some circles that the teachers will force the government to its knees. The bankers have put their strike on hold as they discuss a contentious Bill with the government. At the same time workers of the giant Kenya Post and Telecommunications have also issued a strike notice; the Doctors and nurses are also complaining. What is Kenya's hope for .peace amidst all these economic upheavals? The solution according to many lies in accountability and discipline among high govern ment officials. For example according to the 1997 report by the Auditor - General, billions of shillings had been pocketed by known individuals in government. The discontented groups demand that this money be brought back to the treasury; They demand the number of ministries be trimmed from 27 by merging those duplicating roles. For example Foreign Ministry is-a vis Regional affairs Ministry; Trade Ministry vis-a-vis Ministry of commerce; They demand that unnecessary government spending be trimmed and that the Budgetary allocation for State House be rationalised and accounted for.

The KANU government has made token efforts towards this end; Ministers were required to have only one official car in June this year. This has yet to be done. The president himself offered to take a 50 per cent cut of his salary but people feel that his allowances are too many and that's what he should have offered, and anyway, someone says, the man is so wealthy that he doesn't need any money by was of salary or emoluments. He should give it all up.
The long and short of it is that tremendous political will is called for on the part of the government. The people of Kenya need to be assured that their government is committed to sorting out the mess in which leaders of government have put us all. Only then will the citizenry feel comfortable about tightening their own belts otherwise, we are being called upon to pay for the sins of others. This is an untenable situation.

As the teachers brace for the major September strike, coming just ahead of the country's National exams all are eyes to see how the government handles the situation.
So far, unfortunately, they are messing up - with threats and insults and intimidation. The leaders must differentiate between the country's interests and those of the ruling party, and then put those of the country first.
They must desist from politicizing the country's economy.
"Renegotiate teachers' pay Renegotiate the elections!" Screamed a placard worn by a demonstrating teacher on July 15, who realised that the October agreement, overseen by the Head of State, had a lot to do with the December 97' elections.
Kenyans love their country and their patriotism will be misplaced if it allows them to watch their country get run-down by a few heads at the top. The path to a restoration of peace will be hard and probably long; the situation might worsen before it improves; but still there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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