Raila Odinga to Uhuru Kenyatta: Pay teachers or quit

Raila Odinga to Uhuru Kenyatta: Pay teachers or quit

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Opposition leader Raila Odinga has, once again, asked the Government to implement the teachers’ pay increase and to act on a corruption scandal that has rocked the National Youth Service (NYS).

Speaking Sunday in Kibera, Nairobi, Raila told President Uhuru Kenyatta to leave office if he cannot obey the Supreme Court that upheld the 50-60 per cent pay raise for teachers.

“The President is a product of the Supreme Court decision. They gave him the presidential seat. If he cannot obey the same court that awarded the teachers the salary hike, then he should go home,” he said.

He added: “If the President can blatantly disobey a clear court order, he is dragging the country into the law of the jungle. We will not accept that.”

Raila told his supporters that instead of Uhuru arrogantly saying “can’t pay, won’t pay”, he should negotiate with the striking teachers for an appropriate arrangement on how to pay them their money.

The Opposition leader insisted that the Government has enough money to pay teachers, saying the Sh1.4 billion required for their pay increase is a drop in the ocean compared to the huge amount that the country loses through corruption.

He cited the recent report by the Auditor-General which revealed that Sh67 billion was not accounted for by the national government in the 2013-2014 Financial Year.

“As Opposition leaders, we fully back the demand by teachers to have the pay increase honoured by the Government. Our teachers deserve better treatment since they struggle so much with education of our children."

“Our children in public schools are now entering the third week without teaching. This is clear evidence that this government is not serious with the education sector in this country,” he said.

Regarding NYS, Raila accused the President of shielding Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru from investigation despite her admission that at least Sh800 million was lost through corruption. He called for a forensic audit of NYS and the entire Devolution Ministry saying much more money could have been lost.

“When I first said that huge amounts of money had been lost at NYS, I was called a liar. But the recent revelations have confirmed that indeed high-level graft is alive at the institution and in the Devolution ministry,” he said.


Source: Standard Digital
 
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