President Kenyatta lights up Labour day as he engaged aide-de-camp

There was a light moment during the Labour Day celebrations after president Kenyatta engaged his aide-de-camp Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Stelu Lekolol with a rhetorical question.

President Kenyatta while talking about salary cuts during the Covid 19 period asked his aide-de-camp whether he got a salary cut at the peak of the Covid 19 pandemic.

“And indeed I am proud to say that unlike the private sector that declared redundancies that led to retrenchments, we in the public sector maintained our work force at pre-covid levels,” he stated.

“Hakuna mwalimu, hakuna mfanyikazi wa serikali, hakuna askari ambaye alifutwa kwa sabau ya ukosefu wa pesa watu wetu wote waliendelea na kazi zao bila kukatwa mishahara kama ilivyokuwa katika nchi zingine, wewe ulikatwa mshahara? he asked his aide-de-camp.

Astonished, the Navy soldier saluted and laughed gently before the president proceeded with his speech.

The head of state continued to say that despite people loosing their jobs, the kazi mtaani initiative came in handy to cushion Kenyans especially the youth who benefited from the initiative.

“Despite the fact that some had lost their jobs, the kazi mtaani initiative allowed the youth to form 1, 266 youth groups. Of these groups, 1,025 have benefitted from commercial loans and affirmative action funds,” said the President.

President Kenyatta further praised the Kenyan work force saying that statistics from the world bank indicated that if the country went the direction it had taken it will have the best work force by 2036.

President Uhuru Kenyatta alongside COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli at the Nyayo National Stadium during Labour Day celebrations on May 1, 2022 Pulse Live Kenya

He further said the diaspora remittances went up under his administration attributing it to the Kenyans abroad who work well in different regions around the world.

"As we recognise our Kenyan workers, I also recognise and honour our Kenyan workers in the diaspora. Today they are one of our biggest resource, When I took the oath of office, Kenyans in the diaspora used to remit approximately Sh117 billion back into our economy every year. Today, they remit approximately Sh375 billion each year into our country," said President Kenyatta.