Many Kenyan civil servants have not been paid their March salaries as the East African country faces a cash crunch.
President William Ruto has ruled out taking a loan to cover the costs and said that the funds will be sourced from taxes paid by the Kenyan revenue authority.
Ruto said that the cash crisis was a result of a number of loans coming due in March. Kenya’s public debt has also been increasing in recent years and in 2023 was equivalent to about 60% of GDP.
A number of public service unions have threated strike action unless their salaries are paid, with the government saying the problem would be resolved by the end of the month.
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have both recently warned that a number of sub-Saharan African countries are at risk of a debt crisis.