Controller of Budget, on Tuesday, revealed that the office of the President and his deputy diverted the billions of shillings meant for development to pay salaries for their staff members.
The two top offices are said to have diverted the monies after the salary cap for their staff increased four times in the year to June.
A report by the Controller of Budget noted that the Office of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President spent Ksh8.64 billion on staff salaries and allowances in the last financial year. This is a 282 percent increase in salaries that last year stood at Ksh2.26 billion.
The huge salary scale in the to offices have in returning affected the country’s effort to free more public funds for development projects.
Margaret Nyakango’s office noted that the increase in the spending on salaries and allowances in the two offices and other State departments forced the government to divert some of the loans borrowed for development projects to compensate the employees.
“There were instances where revenue from loans and grants meant to fund development activities was applied to the recurrent budget,” Nyakango, the Controler of Budget said.
According to the report by the Controller of Budget, the government diverted funds from an 80.78 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to pay salaries and allowances to its officers.
The report also notes that the State used Sh18.16 billion from the Ksh70.17 billion loan that was meant for housing, ICT and Innovation, and urban development to pay salaries and allowance.
Reports show that the allowances and salaries for staff in the president and his deputy’s offices have been consistently growing. In March the salaries in the two offices hit Ksh5.43 billion from Ksh Sh355.8 million a year earlier.
The increase in spending on salaries and allowances in the two offices comes at a time when the country is trying to tame its ballooning public wage bill.
