Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta
has reportedly announced that he
and Deputy President William Ruto
will be taking a 20% pay cut while
cabinet ministers’ salaries will be
slashed by 10% in fresh efforts to
cut down on the government’s
ballooning public wage bill.
President Kenyatta who made the
announcement on Friday during a
cabinet retreat near Mount Kenya
said the pay cuts will take effect
immediately. He also declared that
foreign travel for top-ranking
government officials will be limited
to only the most essential trips.
“Wastage in my government will be
significantly reduced,” he said.
According to Kenyatta, the
government is spending close to
$4.6 billion every year in salaries,
leaving only $2.3 billion for
development; a ratio he said was
unsustainable.
“We need to deal with this monster
if we are to develop this nation
otherwise sooner or later we will
become a nation that only collects
taxes to pay ourselves,” President
Kenyatta said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta
The President also urged Kenyan
MPs, who are among the highest
paid in Africa to accept pay cuts.
The issue of politician’s pay in
Kenya has always been a sensitive
one. In 2012 Kenyan lawmakers
had voted to give themselves a pay
rise, a move that immediately
sparked a series of protests and
demonstrations from civil society
groups and activists. Few weeks
after he was elected in March 2013,
President Kenyatta promised to
reduce the country’s public sector
wage bill significantly. In June, the
MPs reluctantly agreed to slash
their annual pay by about 40%
from $120,000 to $75,000.
President Kenyatta’s basic salary is
Ksh 1.2 million ($14,000) a month.
With the new 20% wage reduction,
he will be taking home a little over
$11,000 a month. But he probably
doesn’t need the money anyway.
Kenyatta, who featured in our 2011
ranking of Africa’s Richest People ,
is a prominent member of one of
Kenya’s wealthiest families. The
family’s assets include extensive
land holdings across Kenya, as well
as controlling stakes in media
company Mediamax, Heritage
Hotels, Commercial Bank of Africa
and Brookside Dairies , Kenya’s
largest dairy company.
has reportedly announced that he
and Deputy President William Ruto
will be taking a 20% pay cut while
cabinet ministers’ salaries will be
slashed by 10% in fresh efforts to
cut down on the government’s
ballooning public wage bill.
President Kenyatta who made the
announcement on Friday during a
cabinet retreat near Mount Kenya
said the pay cuts will take effect
immediately. He also declared that
foreign travel for top-ranking
government officials will be limited
to only the most essential trips.
“Wastage in my government will be
significantly reduced,” he said.
According to Kenyatta, the
government is spending close to
$4.6 billion every year in salaries,
leaving only $2.3 billion for
development; a ratio he said was
unsustainable.
“We need to deal with this monster
if we are to develop this nation
otherwise sooner or later we will
become a nation that only collects
taxes to pay ourselves,” President
Kenyatta said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta
The President also urged Kenyan
MPs, who are among the highest
paid in Africa to accept pay cuts.
The issue of politician’s pay in
Kenya has always been a sensitive
one. In 2012 Kenyan lawmakers
had voted to give themselves a pay
rise, a move that immediately
sparked a series of protests and
demonstrations from civil society
groups and activists. Few weeks
after he was elected in March 2013,
President Kenyatta promised to
reduce the country’s public sector
wage bill significantly. In June, the
MPs reluctantly agreed to slash
their annual pay by about 40%
from $120,000 to $75,000.
President Kenyatta’s basic salary is
Ksh 1.2 million ($14,000) a month.
With the new 20% wage reduction,
he will be taking home a little over
$11,000 a month. But he probably
doesn’t need the money anyway.
Kenyatta, who featured in our 2011
ranking of Africa’s Richest People ,
is a prominent member of one of
Kenya’s wealthiest families. The
family’s assets include extensive
land holdings across Kenya, as well
as controlling stakes in media
company Mediamax, Heritage
Hotels, Commercial Bank of Africa
and Brookside Dairies , Kenya’s
largest dairy company.
0 comments:
Post a Comment