By Joshua Cheloti

President William Ruto has finally come out to address growing anxiety and concerns amongst civil servants over their delayed salaries.

The government usually pays its salaries before the end of the month but until last week, it had not done so, triggering an uproar from the opposition.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had over the weekend admitted that the government was struggling to pay civil servants their salaries.

On Tuesday, the President shared similar sentiments, agreeing with critics who have noted that it was the first time in decades that salaries for civil servants had been delayed.

But according to the President, it was also the first time that the government has had to pay huge debts – a situation that has contributed to the current situation.

“I know we have an issue of delayed salaries, and it is the first time we are having this crisis.  But it is also our first time having such monumental debts,” Ruto said.

He spoke during the launch of the Performance Contracting Report at KICC.

But even with an admission that the government was having difficulties getting funds to pay its workers, the President has insisted his administration will not borrow to finance the recurrent budget.

He said they will have to get the funds from taxes and not loans.

“I assure Kenyans on the commitment I made that we are not going to borrow money and spend on recurrent expenditures, especially salaries,” he noted.

However, the head of state has assured Kenyans that the country was headed in the right direction.

He further hailed the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for its commitment to raising resources to finance government projects.

According to the President, KRA has done well, in the midst of tough terrain.

“I want to commend KRA for what they are doing. They are at 95 per cent in revenue collection and they are doing a great job in a difficult terrain where we have experience of people not paying taxes,” he added.