Uhuru, Ruto salaries fall below Sh290,000 a month

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s salary and that of Deputy President William Ruto will fall to Sh288,750 and Sh245,438 respectively effective next month after they took 80 percent cuts in a bid to free up more funds for the fight against the deadly Covid-19 virus.

Mr Kenyatta announced the cuts Wednesday, headlining a list that includes Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries.

Under the voluntary salary cuts Cabinet Secretaries will earn Sh646,000 or 30 percent less and Principal Secretaries Sh612,150 or 20 percent less per month.

The President called on other State officers to take similar cuts and free up more funds.

“In sharing the burden occasioned by the global health pandemic over the duration of the crisis and commencing immediately my administration has offered a salary reduction of the senior rank executives,” the President said.

“I call on other arms of government and tiers of government to join us in this national endeavour by making similar voluntary reductions which will free up monies to combat this pandemic.”

The confirmed Covid-19 cases in Kenya rose by three cases Wednesday, bringing the tally to 28. At least 700 people who came into contact with the patients remain under close monitoring by the Ministry of Health.

The salary cuts announced Wednesday will see taxpayers save Sh2.14 million a month from the Office of the President and his deputy and Sh12.67 million from Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries.

This is the second wave of cuts affecting the President and members of his Cabinet after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) in 2017 slashed the pay of top officials, including lawmakers, to save Sh8.5 billion a year.

The coronavirus outbreak has seen firms cut their working hours while some of their staff are working from home as productivity and revenues take a hit.

Kenya Airways' top executives have taken pay cuts of between 35 percent and 25 percent while directors will work for free effective April 1 in efforts to preserve cash and cut operational costs.

Kenya is seeking Sh122.5 billion ($1.15 billion) in emergency funding from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to support the economy.