Teachers Demand For The Remaining Two Phases Of Their Pay Package Deal

The timing is perfect. This being an election year and the government finding itself on the defensive amid a popular opposition, there could not be a better time for teachers to demand for the full implementation of their pay package deal.

There are about 250,000 teachers in Kenya who are under the teachers service commission and come in very handy during elections as they are known to influence to voting patterns, especially in the rural areas where the majority of voters are.

It is a well known fact that teachers played an integral role in ensuring that Kanu lost the 2002 elections after they were promised heaven on earth by the Narc 'dream team' which ascended to power only to renege on its promises starting with the highly publicized memorandum of understanding.

Kenya national union of teachers secretary general, Francis Ng'ang'a says he is to meet education minister George Saitoti sometime this week to iron out the final details of the pay deal issue and he is optimistic that the talks will be fruitful.

But again, Saitoti has his hands full as he is yet to finalize the pay increment for university lecturers who are still waiting for their revised package where they have asked for an over 500% increment.

This being an election year, the Kibaki administration does not wish to be in the bad books of anybody and in particularly the voters so it will not be a major surprise if the government yields to the teachers' demands as well as those of the lecturers but will probably spread it over a few years.

The big question is where will the money come from? With the government running a major deficit in its budget and borrowing heavily from the domestic market, this trend is bound to continue with a bad impact on interest rates and in effect raising inflation.

At the moment, the education ministry is still grappling with the free primary education policy, which is guzzling a large chunk of the ministry's budget and increasing both the teachers' and lecturers' salary could be more than a herculian task

But again, the current government was voted in not only on the anti corruption platform but also on the promise that everything was possible without Moi. They have failed on both accounts as corruption continues unabated and president Kibaki has become Moi's bosom friend and advisor. The clincher is that even what was possible under Moi (like Kenyas being able to put bread on the table more easily) has proved to be increasingly impossible under Kibaki for many Kenyans.

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