Raila Odinga: Pay cut will only hurt already burdened workers

By STANDARD ON SUNDAy TEAM

Kenya: The move by President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto and their Cabinet to take a pay cut has elicited sharp reactions from across the political divide.

Speaking in Nyeri yesterday, Ruto urged civil servants to take the cue from the President and consider taking a pay cut.

In Vihiga, CORD leader Raila Odinga told President Uhuru Kenyatta to work on reducing the cost of living before asking Kenyans to take a pay cut.

Three MPs who accompanied the Deputy President to the church function in Nyeri said they were ready to take a 10 per cent pay reduction while URP leaders at the ASK Eldoret show told him they needed a pay increase, arguing that their payslips were reading zero.

By ERIC LUNGAI

Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) principals and other leaders from Western Kenya have criticised the move by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto to cut down their salaries by 20 per cent terming it populist politics.

The leaders said the move was cleverly crafted to plunge civil servants into hard times, as their salaries will be cut; yet the cost of living remains the same.

Speaking during a memorial service for eight victims who perished in a grisly road accident in Vihiga County two weeks ago at Musitinyi primary school in Luanda constituency, the leaders said PresidentKenyatta is taking Kenyans for a ride.

“The 20 per cent pay cut is a farce. President Uhuru should reduce the cost of living first before reviewing salaries. Otherwise this is a move to make Kenyans suffer even more, when they are already shouldering a difficult burden,” ODM leader

Raila Odinga said. He said there were proper mechanisms of controlling the economy other than making the entire population suffer.

Vihiga Governor Moses Akaranga, Senators George Khaniri (Vihiga) and Moses Wetangula (Bungoma), MPs Chris Omulele (Luanda), Wilbur Ottichilo (Emuhaya) and Ababu Namwamba (Budalangi), among other leaders were present. Namwamba, who said the move by President Uhuru to cut his pay by 20 per cent was only populist politics, which Kenyans ‘are tired of’, had kicked off the debate.

Wetang’ula said the government had scored below in everything in their first year, and thus they wanted to ride on populism in ruling the country.

Graft claims

“Let the Jubilee Government cut down on cases of corruption in its hierarchies and offer proper service delivery to the Kenyans who are suffering instead of playing monkey tricks. Look at everything in the Jubilee Government, all their performance can only score a zero,” he said.

Raila said life was hard for many Kenyans and President Uhuru should seek advice from experts on matters to do with running an economy. “When we were in power with former President Mwai Kibaki, we tried our best to ensure Kenyans were comfortable.

If the President has been defeated with ruling the country, he should  consult us,” he said. Akaranga and Khaniri asked the President to hasten in lowering the cost of living, at the grassroots level.

On Friday, President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto cut down on their pay by 20 per cent in a move that is to see other civil servants face a pay cut. The leaders also jabbed at the efforts by the national government to check devolution, saying that was a move to kill it so that people do not benefit.

Trouncing law Raila said the Jubilee Government, which never supported it in the first instance, was trouncing upon the Constitution.

He said so far, the national government is allocated more than 85 per cent of the total revenue and only 15 per cent allocated to the counties, yet certain individuals are so keen in killing devolution that they would do all they can to portray governors negatively. “What we are not being shown is how the 85 per cent allocated to the national government is being utilised, instead we are only closely following the 15 per cent managed by governors.

If a governor misappropriates funds, deal with an individual, not the entire devolution,” Raila said. Akaranga said the means that the Government is using may after all kill devolution in the long run, if the MPs do not help and check them in time.

“If someone wants to kill something, they start from very far, coming from different directions and with different theories.

Let devolution not fall prey to this,” he warned. Wetangula said the Government was using the offices of the Controller of Budget and Auditor General to negatively portray the counties, so that they can slowly kill devolution.

“President Uhuru doesn’t believe in devolution. He wants everything to be controlled from Nairobi so that people would continue going there to beg him,” he said.

They urged Kenyans to shun the reports being released by some quarters on the performance of governors because money to the counties was released late, and that procurement procedures are tedious.