This archive report was first published on 25 June 2020.
On June 25, 2020, Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani issued a directive to public universities and State corporations to clear pending bills, including statutory deductions, by June 30, 2020, or face sanctions.
According to Yatani, the directive covers deductions to all sacco and staff loan deductions made by the various State entities in an effort to enforce compliance in payment of pending bills.
The directive is set to impact cash-strapped public varsities, whose pending bills have accumulated to Sh19 billion, including pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) National Social Security Fund (NSSF), National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), Higher Education Loans Board (Helb), pension, and sacco deductions.
“Accumulation of liabilities (pending bills) not sanctioned by law is expressly prohibited and may invite punitive actions against those responsible…”
Yatani warned that failure to pay up will be a breach of law and attract penalties in line with provisions of the Public Officer Ethics Act of 2003 and the public service code.
Public universities have barely a week to implement the order, with the University of Nairobi topping the list with Sh5.5 billion, followed by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture Technology and the Technical University of Kenya at Sh3.5 billion each.
