The National Treasury has allocated retired President Uhuru Kenyatta Ksh 678.5 million as his pension and retirement perks.
The allocation is included in President William Ruto’s first supplementary budget, in which the new administration has revised its spending and budget deficit estimates for the current fiscal year.
The Ksh 678.57 million figure includes Sh655.32 million for Uhuru Kenyatta’s office, while Ksh 23.47 million, or Ksh1.95 million per month, will be wired to the former President’s bank accounts as a pension.
The Treasury in the last regime omitted perks allocations from the budget for the fiscal year beginning July last year, which was interpreted as a nod to the former Head of State’s desire to remain active in party politics.
This is after Uhuru was in February last year offered a five-year term as head of Jubilee Party and is listed as chairman of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition’s council.
Uhuru’s retirement benefits will be the largest ever offered to a former President, highlighting the difficulty of keeping former Kenyan heads of state happy in retirement.
His perks include Ksh 140 million for the purchase of luxury vehicles and other transport-related equipment, and Ksh 162,49 million to facilitate his domestic and international travel
The late Mwai Kibaki was offered Ksh 94.26 million in perks during the fiscal year beginning in July 2014, his first full year after leaving office.
A monthly pension for a retired President is equal to 80 percent of his pensionable salary, or 60 percent of the Ksh1.44 million monthly salary offered to the current President.
In addition to fuel, housing, and entertainment allowances, his overall benefits surpass those of the top chief executives of state-owned companies such as KenGen, Kenya-Re, and Kenya Power.
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