This archive report was first published on 11 August 2019.
Kenya's government has been claiming to be broke for the past five years, citing a bloated wage bill as the reason for its financial struggles. However, a closer look at its financial decisions reveals a different story.
One would expect that a government claiming to be broke would not take on new financial commitments, such as loans from European financial institutions. However, in 2019, the government took a huge loan purportedly to support infrastructure projects, only to have it unclear what the money was used for. A significant portion of the loan disappeared, while another chunk was used to fund recurrent expenditure.
Another example is the government's agreement to take a loan to build a new railway, which was expected to pay for itself within a short time. However, it soon became clear that it was impossible to force people to use the railway, and the money could not be recovered within the projected period.
Furthermore, the government has been adjusting the pay of its senior officers and paying them, despite widespread industrial unrest in the public service. This is a clear contradiction of the government's claims of being broke.
It is clear that the government's financial decision-making is inconsistent with its claims of being broke. In fact, its actions are fuelling industrial unrest among its employees. It is either that certain elements in government are interested in its downfall or that responsible persons are ignorant of the impact of their decisions on the government's standing.
Lukoye Atwoli is a former Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Moi University School of Medicine.
