The Kenyan government has sacked thousands of nurses who have been on strike since November. The nurses, who work in Kenya's public hospitals, have been demanding large pay increases. The announcement comes one day after President Daniel Arap Moi was sworn into office for a fifth term in a ceremony in which he promised his next government would be more sensitive to the needs of the people. From Nairobi, our East Africa correspondent Cathy Jenkins reports:

The nurses who have been on strike since November 28 have been told that they need no longer report to work. The same message has been given to laboratory staff and other health workers who stayed away in support.

The mass sackings have come in the guise of a health sector reform programme. A statement from the ministry of health said that as part of the restructuring and decentralisation of public health care, nurses from now on should apply to the management board of individual hospitals for posts.

It said that the restructuring was being undertaken to improve the quality of healthcare in the country. No mention was made of the financial demands, which President Moi had promised to address.

Shortly before the election, he appealed to the nurses to return to work, saying that their grievances would be addressed after polling day. The sackings come just one day after the president was sworn in for a fifth term in office, in a ceremony in which he promised that his next government would be more sensitive to the needs of the people.

This is the first time that nurses in Kenya have taken strike action. Thousands of them joined the stoppage to demand large pay increases.

They also wanted to draw attention to their working conditions and to the abysmal state of many of the country's public hospitals. A general shortage of funds has been exacerbated over the years by mismanagement and corruption.