Wilson Sossion, who was nominated by President William Ruto as a member of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), has revealed that his net worth stands at KSh65 million.
Speaking on Thursday, August 20 when he appeared before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Education for vetting, Sossion said that his wealth comprised of two homes valued at KSh40 million, land worth KSh15 million, savings in SACCO and a personal vehicle.
“That is what my accountant picked correctly. My net worth excluding liabilities, I do not have any running loan; it is actually at KSh65 million,” Sossion clarified.
If approved, Sossion pledged to utilise his experience as a long serving Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary-General to advocate for “constructive” engagement between TSC and its partners.
“I am sure that the government, compared to other countries, is pro-teachers in terms of work. I will defend the commission, and I will do that what is necessary in terms of promoting constructive engagement with the social partners,” he said.
Sossion served as KNUT’s mouthpiece from 2013 to 2021, a period during which he was so vocal in advocating teachers’ rights, a position that often put him on a collision path against the government. However, Sossion insisted that this should not be deemed as a conflict of interest.
“I am going to commit myself to ensuring the commission is administered within the policies. I am very strong in my decisions. I am not going to betray the commission, nor am I going to betray the teachers of Kenya,” added Sossion.
Apart from advocating for the rights of teachers, Sossion also told the committee that at one point, he also supported the TSC in securing additional resources.
“I wish to say consciously; the work I did was to support the commission so that it can support teachers. And it did happen. And I think that is a positive contribution to the employer because we’re able to avail KSh2.4 billion and a further KSh1.4 billion for annual recruitment. And that work has gone on,” he added.
In any case, Sossion maintained that TSC is not at war with teachers.
“And so for me, my concern and what I will do is to continue advocating for the director of pension to promptly release the pension to teachers. And as per Musila Bill, any worker exiting government payroll should automatically enter the payroll of pension for workers. I think as a country, we should be protecting our pensioners,” he said.
