Uhuru, Ruto to take 20pc pay cut
President Uhuru Kenyatta consults with Deputy President William Ruto and Chief of staff and head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua during the ongoing Cabinet and Principal Secretaries retreat at Mt Kenya Safari club, Nanyuki.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that he and Deputy President William Ruto will be taking a 20 per cent cut on their salaries.
He said that all the 18 Cabinet Secretaries had agreed to take a 10 per cent pay cut as part of austerity measures announced at the end of a Cabinet retreat in Nanyuki, Central Kenya.
"Mindful of the rising public wage bill, my deputy and I will take a 20 per cent pay cut and our Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries have accepted a 10 per cent pay cut, with immediate effect," he said.
The Jubilee government would also set up measures to rationalise public expenditure and reduce public wastage, he said.
President Kenyatta said the government would draft a new international travel policy, which would restrict foreign journeys to none but the most essential
The government has earlier expressed concern over a rising public sector wage bill, which has put pressure on resources to support development.
A Situation Analysis Paper on the Public Wage Bill report, released last month indicates the government would also find it difficult to sustain social protection in the country.
While the public wage bill should not be more than seven per cent of GDP, it has been above 11 per cent for the last five years, rising to 12 per cent in the 2012/2013 financial year.
