The Star 01/10/2017

Striking doctors have less than 24 hours to resume work or be sacked, governors have said. Medics who do not resume work tomorrow will receive warning letters, asking them to state why they should not be sacked. They will have one week to respond to the letters, after which their posts will be advertised. “County public service boards have been instructed to apply the relevant processes to commence the dismissal process and to recover any money that may have been paid to any doctors that has not been working,” Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya said. He spoke yesterday after a five-hour meeting attended by most governors at the council’s offices in Nairobi. Munya said the 40 per cent pay increase offer made by President Uhuru Kenyatta last week was…

JACKSON KIOKO Medics to give polio jab One million children under five years of age will finally be vaccinated against polio from next week using the new injectable polio vaccine. Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that can cause paralysis. Kenya has been free of polio since 2006. But it has experienced several cases of imported wild polio virus, causing outbreaks in 2009, 2011 and 2013. See page 13 SAM IKWAYE Poll jitters slows tourist bookings Fewer international tourists are making bookings closer to the election and 2017 bookings have remained low, the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers said yesterday. They are concerned about security, executive officer Sam Ikwaye says. But the Kenya Coast Tourism Association says the industry is stable and it expects no slump during the…

The electoral commission has urged the government to lift ban on the International Foundation for Electoral Systems operations in Kenya as it could have a negative impact on election preparedness. Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission CEO Ezra Chiloba, who spoke during a media forum on voter registration yesterday, said IFES has been constructive in funding the commission’s key operations among them voter education. “We have had a very constructive engagement with IFES for a very long time,” he said. Chiloba said the commission has written to government agencies that are opposed to IFES operations. During the 2016 Jamhuri Day celebrations on December 12, President Uhuru Kenyatta accused some NGOs of plotting to undermine the government under the guise of promoting civic education. At the time, Uhuru said Kenyans know how…

MANY aspirants who are not sure of getting the Jubilee Party ticket have opted for small parties that are acceptable in their areas. Hopefuls, mainly from Central, are trooping into DP and PNU, where they are being promised direct nominations. Some of those who have already joined other parties are today expected to tell Deputy President William Ruto (pictured) that they do not trust that the Jubilee primaries will be free and fair. STILL on matters nominations, a senior Jubilee official has been using his position to demand sexual favours from young aspirants interested in getting nominated to the county assemblies. The man has a pimp, his driver, who identifies the girls and delivers them to him at a hotel in Kasarani. Without shame, the man offers to get the…

 Opposition parties will announce a joint presidential candidate in February, six months to the polls, and they will set the stage tomorrow at a mass meeting at the Bomas of Kenya. THIS HAS BEEN IN THE WORK PLAN FOR SOME TIME BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME WE WILL HAVE THE LEADERSHIP OF ALL OPPOSITION PARTIES TOGETHER More than 15,000 leaders and members from at least five affiliate parties are to attend. The leaders of all major opposition parties, those likely to form a National Super Alliance, NASA, will be together for the first time. Kanu is not expected. Officially, the meeting will chart the way forward after passage of controversial electoral laws the opposition says will be used to rig the August 8 election. It will decide whether to hold…

THE reason I believe NASA will work is that we have seen the concept work before. You may recall the creation of the National Rainbow Coalition – NARC – wave back in 2002. This was the coming together of the Opposition parties of the day. And this is what we are working on now, in the knowledge that, once all the Opposition parties come together, they will carry with them a much larger part of the country than that which may be likely to vote for Jubilee. Indeed, once the Opposition is united, Jubilee has no chance at all. And that is why some people are trying to throw spanners in the works. They are hoping very much that Opposition unity will not happen. It is only to be expected,…