President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, were grossly over-paid in 2016, according a report of the Auditor General, which reveals their salaries and benefits for the fiscal year ending June 2016 was four times that set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
Pay transactions for the Office of the President under the Consolidated Fund Services (CFS)shows Ksh148 million instead was paid out, up from Ksh36.6 million in line with the payroll data.
Payments to the Office of the President through the CFS comprise salaries and benefits of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto. This means that the average monthly costs of Mr Kenyatta’s pay and benefits and those of his deputy are Ksh12.33 million, the Business Daily reports.
But the payroll account, which normally excludes allowances paid to civil servants, puts Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto’s pay at Sh36.6 million — matching the pay approved by the SRC for the period starting 2013 to June 2017.
Under the lapsed four-year SRC pay guide, Mr Kenyatta was entitled to a salary range of between Sh1.23 million and Sh1.65 million monthly, putting his maximum annual pay at Sh19.8 million.
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Mr Ruto is entitled to a monthly pay of between Sh1.05 million and Sh1.4 million — effectively capping his annual pay at Sh16.8 million. But the CFS accounts indicated a pay of Sh148 million with Mr Ouko questioning the variance of Sh111.8 million.
Treasury says the Sh111 million could be the President and his deputy’s benefits and perks. The Treasury in a separate budget estimate document had shown the two executives will enjoy a combined allowances package of Ksh14.6 million a year.
In July, SRC cut the pay of State officers, including that of the President and his deputy to ease pressure on the wage bill to save taxpayers Sh8 billion annually.
The new pay that runs between September 2017 and 2022, shows the President’s monthly pay was cut to Ksh1,444,750, down from Ksh1,650,000. The Deputy President will get Ksh1,227,188, down from Ksh1,402,500.
The Treasury has also implemented an austerity plan to free up cash for development and essential services such as security, health and education.
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