Githae also said as the Minister of Finance, he did not have powers under the new constitution to authorise payment for any expenditure that were not budgeted for in the current financial year, but that was a responsibility of the parliament.
“At the moment the minister for finance has no powers to approve anything that is not in the budget. I have no powers to authorise even five cents if it is not in the budget,” he said.
“I have been wondering why you say the minister of finance is insensitive. Parliament is now a budget making institution and it is no longer a rubber-stamping body. You are blaming a wrong person.”
Terming the teachers’ 300 per cent salary increment demand as ‘unaffordable and unsustainable’ the minister appealed to the teachers to call off the strike and wait for the recommendations of a cabinet sub-committee, which is currently looking into the matter.
“In my view as, I have to look at the economy holistically. We must avoid wage spirals, which are going to come. I have to look at the welfare of the 40 million Kenyans,” he said.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has insisted that the strike would take longer than expected because the Government had shown little interest in resolving the crisis.
On Tuesday, National Chairman Omboko Milemba noted that the Government had once again snubbed attempts aimed at addressing the matter worsening an already tense situation.
