Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) officials in the North Rift have protested plans by the government to scrap hardship allowances in some areas.

Led by Knut North Rift region woman representative Dorcas Jecinta, the officials said civil servants serving in the region among them teachers were grappling with a lot of challenges in the line of duty citing impassable road network.

According to Jecinta, this has posed as a major challenge especially during emergencies like when the government officers and citizens alike fall sick.

She cited an incident recently when an expectant woman delivered on the roadside after Fluorspar-Nyaru road in Elgeyo Marakwet County was cut off following heavy rains.

“We as civil servants are suffering a lot in the course of our duties and we deserve hardship allowance. This has also affected other government officials like doctors as they cannot reach their work stations on time threatening patients’ lives,” said Jacinta.

“What the government should be doing is adding hardship allowances to it’s servants instead of scraping it off altogether,” she added.

Elgeyo Marakwet County Knut Executive Secretary Anthony Kimurto said the county, especially the lowland areas is an hardship area grappling with a lot of challenges including drought and rampant cases of insecurity.

“Communication and social amenities are not available for teachers. We are forced to incur a lot of expenses travelling to and from our work stations. The government officials should visit the county and get the real picture of the hardship it’s officials are facing on the ground,” said Kimurto.

“The government should rescind its decision and immediately reinstate hardship allowances for teachers in the North Rift failure of we will stage demonstrations until our grievances are addressed,” added Kimurto.

The union officials from Elgeyo Marakwet, Nandi, and Baringo Counties have threatened to stage demonstrations if their plight is not addressed by the government.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi recently revealed that the government would begin cutting hardship allowances paid to thousands of civil servants after approving a long-delayed review of regions classified as hardship areas.

Appearing in Parliament, Mudavadi told the MPs that this move would save the government Sh6 billion yearly.

“I wish to inform the House that the implementation of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee report will reduce the financial implication for payment of hardship allowances from Sh25 billion to Sh19 billion per annum, thereby making a Sh6 billion saving by the government,” he said.