The announcement by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday that he and DP William Ruto will take 80 per cent pay cut in the wake of Covid-19 has been greeted with reservations.
The head of state also said Cabinet secretaries will take a 30 per cent pay cut. Chief Administrative Secretaries and Principal Secretaries will take 30 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
It was not the first time the President was saying he will lead the way by taking a pay cut. In 2014, Uhuru and Deputy President William Ruto announced they were taking a 20 per cent salary reduction, but months down the line, the gesture fizzled out signaling poor structure on how the offer was to be executed.
The directive remained just a word of mouth, something that put accounting officers at Treasury at a precarious position.
In 2017, then National Treasury CS Henry Rotich said between 2014-2017, the account that had been opened at Central Bank to receive the voluntary deductions had only netted Sh70 million.
Apart from Uhuru and Ruto who were taking 20 per cent pay cut, Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and heads of parastatals were expected to forfeit between 10 and 20 per cent of their earnings.
Financial expert Titus Maina said the President, the DP and all those who will take the pay cut should write to their respective employers committing their earnings to be deducted.
“If they fail to do so, the spirit of implementation of the directive will die with time. While the other directive failed to yield much, I think this one will materialise because we are in a crisis,” he told the Star on the phone.
Maina also noted that the impact of the money from the top government officials “is too small to be felt”.
Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairperson Lyn Mengich said their role ends the moment they set the salaries.
“The commission sets pay but does not process payroll. Pay for state officers is through the Treasury and for the others through the Ministry of Public Service,” she told the Star on the phone.
On Sunday Thirdway Alliance leader Ekuru Aukot challenged Uhuru, Ruto and all the 47 governors to take a pay cut in the wake of the coronavirus.
“The pay cut will reduce the wage bill and redirect this money to cushion low income earners who are working from home. At times like this, leaders ought to lead from the front and sacrifice for the welfare of the poor majority,” Aukot said in his open letter addressed to the President.
Edited by A.N
