Numerical machining says insufficient funding behind delayed salaries

The management of Numerical Machining Complex Limited (NMC) has attributed the failure to pay their staff salaries on time to insufficient funding from government and a cash crunch.

Acting CEO Christine Mbando said they have been experiencing difficulties in meeting their obligations because of the cash crisis being experienced.

“It is true we did not pay the November salaries in time but we have already paid as we talk. This was occasioned by difficult financial situation that the company has been experiencing as a result of insufficient funding,” she said.

Ms Mbando said the firm is key in the industrialization process and with sufficient and timely funding they can achieve their goals.

She was reacting to complaint by some staff that their salaries had not been paid. The staff sought to know the reasons behind the delays, which they argued have been consistent.

The CEO argued in the current 2015/2016 financial year, NMC was allocated Sh188 million out of which Sh100 million would go for development and the balance for recurrent purposes.

Of the money budgeted for development, only Sh25 milion has been released while Sh44.7 million was released for recurrent purposes to settle salaries, bills and staff welfare.

There are 168 staff in the institution who earn Sh11.5 million per month which indicate in the last four months Sh46 million has been paid out to the staff.

“Power bills run up to Sh700,000 in a month. We procure production materials which run up to Sh10 million monthly and we feel with the under funding our operations are affected,” said another senior official at the company.

NMC is one of the least well-known, most misunderstood and poorly appreciated of Kenya’s industrial plants and yet it is literally the workshop of Vision 2030’s industrialisation component.

Kenya Railways Corporation and the University of Nairobi are NMC shareholders.