Thanks for pay cut, now cut wastage and corruption

By Mugambi Nandi

As Sir Arnold explained to Bernard in the British comedy “Yes Minister”, the law of inverse relevance states that the less you intend to do about something, the more you have to keep talking about it. In that spirit, let us talk about the public wage bill. A king-size wage bill is one of the two or three ugly monkeys which retired President Kibaki left at President Kenyatta’s doorstep as he exited State House with contentment. It is also the most agile one because it involves people who have the ability, and do not lack the courage to sabotage any attempts to reduce their earnings. Not too long ago we quoted Upton Sinclair, who wrote that it is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. The quote bears repeating.