External debt barrier to the salaries of civil servants in Kenya

Hundreds of thousands of public employees were unable to receive their salaries in March due to payments on foreign debt in Kenya.

Having difficulty finding enough money to pay foreign debt, the government was unable to pay the salaries of hundreds of thousands of civil servants because there was no money in the treasury.

Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung’u has warned that civil servants’ salaries could be further delayed, saying the government is stuck between choosing between high levels of debt financing and fiscal restraint.

The unions have decided to go on strike.

Two unions, to which public employees are affiliated, announced that they will go on strike.

The president’s adviser, David Ndii, claimed that the inability to pay salaries was not due to a crisis and that there was some kind of liquidity shortage.

It is claimed that Kenya’s public debt is equivalent to about 65 percent of the country’s revenue.

The new government of the country, where the cost of living was maintained after the August elections, faced the actions of the opposition. (AA)