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City Hall to pay workers by end of Tuesday after strike threat

The workers have not been paid after the Central Bank transferred Sh1.17 billion meant for salaries from the county’s bank account to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to settle tax arrears/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 16 – The Nairobi County Government says it will pay its more than 12,000 workers their delayed April salaries by Tuesday evening after they threatened to go on strike.

The workers have not been paid after the Central Bank of Kenya transferred Sh1.17 billion meant for salaries from the county’s bank account to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to settle tax arrears.

County Secretary Robert Ayisi told Capital FM News that City Hall had sourced alternative funds and would pay the workers by the end of the day.

“We know where we will get the funds… all the workers will be paid by the end of the day,” he stated.

On Monday, the county went to court seeking an order compelling KRA to reverse the transfer and the ruling is due Wednesday.

The County Government pays a total of Sh1.3 billion monthly to its workers.

Nairobi County lawyer Tom Ojienda also sought to have Directors of Central Bank and Kenya Revenue Authority committed to civil jail for making the transaction despite an existing court order barring the move.

“In disobedience of the court order made for City Hall, KRA transferred salaries of Nairobi City County employees for the month of April hence we are looking for alternative ways to pay them,” Ojienda stated.

Governor Evans Kidero termed the move to transfer the funds politically motivated and aimed at paralysing the county’s operations.

Kidero had asked the KRA to refund the money and admitted that he has been restraining the workers from going to the streets.

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Two weeks ago, the CBK transferred money from the county’s recurrent account to the taxman to clear part of more than Sh3 billion owed by City Hall.

The debt, mostly inherited from the now defunct Nairobi City Council, includes statutory deductions that the council failed to remit.

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