CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE AFRICA ISSUE 0024 | Page 22

ECONOMY

Government grapples with increased wage bill amidst
By CIA Correspondent

a 1.4 trillion budget

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from Ksh210 billion to activate their operations after going live on July 1. For the first 100 days , the new government has been hit by demands for salary increments that paralysed learning in public schools for three weeks. The teachers through their union, Kenya National Union of Teachers demanded huge salary and allowance adjustment in accordance with an agreement they signed with the government 15 years ago. Prior to teachers strike, executive and parliament were engaged in a turf war over new salaries for Members of Parliament with the later insisting that they should pocket Ksh850,000 and not Ksh 532,000 as Salaries as Remuneration Commission had proposed. The anger from teachers and MPs led to an attempt to divert funds that had been allocated for laptop project to pay salaries. But the Jubilee government led by President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto insist that funds meant for development projects cannot to be diverted to pay salaries. President Kenyatta came out fighting over the proposal to scrap development plans, among them the laptop project saying it was unhealthy to divert funds meant for development project to pay salaries. President Uhuru further warned that continued calls for increased salaries will affect economic growth and push up inflation rates, which have been high for

he Kenyan government is grappling with increased public wage bill in the wake of a new cons