Editor's Review

The president promised to look into the matter and fast-track it to the benefit of the teachers.

President William Ruto has pledged hardship allowance to teachers employed in parts of Taita Taveta County.

Speaking Saturday, September 26, while laying off the foundation stone for students' hostels at Wumingu Technical and Vocational College in Wundanyi, Ruto acknowledged the challenging terrain teachers in the area have to contend with.

The matter had been raised by a senior educator who voiced concerns over the difficulty of working in the hilly region.

"I have heard the principal here saying teachers need allowance for hardship for this region. I will follow it up and see what I can do. Indeed, this is a hardship area. Climbing these hills is quite a hustle," Ruto said.

The President did not give a specific timeline for when the matter would be resolved but indicated that he would pursue it further with the relevant authorities.

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The remarks come at a time when the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been under pressure over the classification and administration of hardship allowances nationally.

President William Ruto speaking in Wundanyi, Taita Taveta County.

The teachers' employer currently recognises 44 gazetted hardship areas across the country, including parts of Kitui, Isiolo, Wajir, Lamu, Kajiado and Laikipia counties.

Under the second phase of the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the teachers' unions and the employer, which took effect on 1 July 2026, hardship allowance rates are pegged to job group rather than as a percentage of basic pay, a structure TSC has since abolished.

The highest rate, Ksh38,100, goes to teachers in Job Group D5, while the lowest, Ksh6,600, goes to Job Group B5, with rates scaled in between.

Meanwhile, Ruto's visit to Wundanyi forms part of his broader engagements on the coast, where he will camp for the next three days.

The tour spans six counties, where he will issue nearly 200,000 title deeds as part of a national plan to distribute 500,000 land ownership documents to resolve decades‑long squatter disputes.

The programme begins in Taita‑Taveta with 31,318 deeds, moves to Kwale with 94,175, Kilifi with 36,826, Mombasa with 4,360, and concludes with 22,770 across Lamu and Tana River.

Perhaps the highlight of the tour, Ruto will break ground on the $16 billion East Africa Refinery in Lamu, a joint venture with Nigerian tycoon Aliko Dangote expected to process Turkana crude, supply regional markets, create over 500,000 jobs, and bolster Kenya’s energy security.