347 Taita Taveta ECDE teachers to be sacked after end of contract

The county government plans to lay off workers to reduce the wage bill.

Taita Taveta Governor Andrew Mwadime said the bloated, unsustainable workforce has compromised service delivery.

At the same time, the Governor said those whose contracts have expired will not have them renewed.

Mwadime went back on his pledge to offer permanent and pensionable employment to all Early Childhood Development Education and vocational training teachers, whose three-year contracts lapse this year.

“We are interrogating the audit of the staff forwarded to us and at the same time looking at how we can address challenges around the huge wage bill,” he said.

“The corrupt who used fake academic certificates to secure jobs and those undermining my administration will face the impending purge. The Revenue department will be the most affected.”

The Governor also blamed the delayed disbursement of revenue by the national government for some of the problems his administration is facing.

“The situation has been compounded by low local revenue, which has been occasioned by corruption among revenue collectors who use fake receipt books to enrich themselves,” he said.

Reports from the Department of Education show 332 ECDE teachers are on permanent and pensionable terms. Contracts for 347 are expiring. Out of the 203 vocational training colleges tutors, contracts for 76 have also expired.