President William Ruto and his Cabinet on Tuesday, November 29, agreed to forego their one-month salary and channel the money towards mitigating the effects of drought across the country.
The president and his Cabinet took the bold step, days after the government launched a pay bill number and urged Kenyans to contribute part of their salaries to address the drought situation.
According to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), a Cabinet Secretary is entitled to a gross salary of Ksh924,000.
In a breakdown, they earn a basic salary of Ksh554,400, a house allowance of Ksh200,000, and a market adjustment of Ksh169,600. This is equivalent to the amount that Attorney General, Justin Muturi receives.
On the other hand, president Ruto earns a monthly salary of Ksh1,443,750 while his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, takes home Ksh1,227,188.
The Cabinet, which constitutes the president, his deputy, 22 CSs, and the AG will forego approximately Ksh23,922,938.
What Can Ksh23 Million Buy?
The Cabinet meeting also discussed ways of lowering the high cost of living and lowering the cost of food prices. For instance, a 2-kilogram packet of maize flour retails between Ksh180 and Ksh210.
In addition, maize prices have hit a record high with a 90 kg bag going for Ksh6,000. To put it into perspective, the Ksh23 million figure can purchase an average of 3,987 bags of maize.
Assuming that the price of a 50kg bag of fertilizer is Ksh3,500, the Ksh23 million would buy up to 6,571 bags and distributed to farmers across the country.
Statistics
According to the latest report by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), 3.5 million Kenyans were on the brink of starvation by the end of April 2022. This represented an increase of 400,000 as opposed to February 2022.
The government has since resorted to ways of mitigating the ravaging effects of drought; by distributing relief food to the most affected counties.
