We will not borrow to pay salaries — President Ruto

President William Ruto has said his administration will not borrow money to pay civil servants.

“We are not going to borrow money to pay salaries,” the President said on Tuesday.

The President's statement comes amid threats by government employees to boycott work to push the National Treasury to release their salaries.  

Read: Why MPs will be broke like all of us

Thousands of government employees went for Easter holidays without March salaries and some county workers are owed up to three months’ worth of pay. 

Governors have protested at failure by the National Treasury to release money to the counties for the fourth consecutive month since December. By end of March, counties said they were owed Sh122.1 billion, with governors blaming the withheld cash for their failure to pay county workers’ salaries.

The counties are owed Sh29.6 billion for December, Sh31.45 billion for January and February each, and Sh29.6 billion for March.

This is the longest period that the devolved units have gone without receiving their equitable share of revenue from Treasury.