Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti addresses the Media at WhiteHouseflanked by other CountyCounty Officials. Photo GVN Press 
By Andrew Mbuva
Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has made a passionate plea to striking nurses to return to dialogue and put the interests of patients first, even as she unveiled plans to recruit 500 new nurses to boost service delivery in the county’s health sector.
The Governor, who addressed the state of healthcare in Machakos, expressed deep concern over the nurses’ strike that has crippled services in hospitals for nearly two weeks.
She disclosed that her administration had already resolved six out of the seven demands raised by the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives, but admitted that the issue of promotions had remained contentious.
“I call upon the nurses and midwives to put the interest of the people of Machakos first and give dialogue another chance in order to end the suffering of patients,” she said, adding that her government remained open to constructive engagement to find a lasting solution.
To cushion health facilities against the ongoing industrial action, Governor Ndeti directed the Department of Health and the County Public Service Board to immediately advertise and recruit 500 new nurses.
She noted that this was part of a wider plan to address staffing gaps that have long strained health service delivery across the county.
While calling for calm, the Governor also took stock of the achievements her administration has made in the health sector over the past three years.
She pointed out that her government had made deliberate efforts to prioritize the welfare of health workers, citing the promotion of 132 nurses in 2023, the hiring of 57 nurses in 2024, and the recruitment of 183 more this year.
Between February and May alone, 231 nurses benefitted from long-overdue promotions, while a further 42 are currently being recruited. These reforms, she emphasized, have been costly but necessary to strengthen healthcare services.
She further underscored that health revenue collection had grown significantly from Sh38 million in the 2021/2022 financial year to Sh775 million by the close of the last financial year, a leap she attributed to reforms aimed at enhancing accountability.
Governor Ndeti however admitted that her administration had inherited a deeply troubled health sector.
On taking office in 2022, she said, the county was saddled with a Sh104 million KEMSA bill that disrupted drug supplies, Sh59 million in unpaid electricity bills that caused frequent blackouts in hospitals, and over Sh7.2 billion in pending bills, including unremitted statutory obligations.
She also found broken medical equipment, non-functional morgues, dilapidated infrastructure, and a demoralized workforce plagued by irregular promotions and salary delays.
Despite these challenges, she maintained that her administration has worked tirelessly to restore order and efficiency.
Wavinya appealed to the Senate to push for reforms in the management of devolved functions, particularly in health, where timely reimbursement of Social Health Authority funds remains a major challenge for counties.
"Though devolution has come of age, there are serious gaps that the Senate needs to address one of which is the unbundling of devolved functions and funds to follow the same function. The most affected function is health, and on this I call upon my sister, the Hon. Senator of Machakos to direct her immense energy to ensure this matter which is long overdue is brought to closure", said Wavinya.
In the meantime, Governor Ndeti revealed that hospitals had been instructed to engage nurses on locum to ensure patients continue receiving essential services. She insisted that while her government was committed to the welfare of health workers, the ultimate priority must remain the lives of Machakos residents.
