The government has turned it's attention to parastatals, as it seeks to come out of its current financial problems, it has emerged.
Consequently, it is reported that President Uhuru Kenyatta has since ordered that parastatals hand over surplus money in their accounts to cover up for the financial gap.
This comes amid reports that the government is running broke, while it's at the same time expected to begin repaying its loan, including the second batch of the 2014 Eurobond interest.
In line with Uhuru's Monday directive, the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) became the first parastatal to hand over monies and gave the National Treasury Sh5 billion on Tuesday.
“What we had was not ‘idle cash’ but cash generated by efficient operations. The cash could have been used to invest, or to pay back to the shareholder,” KPC Chair John Ngumi said on Thursday.
Apart from the Sh204 billion Eurobond interest set to be paid next month, the government is also expected to begin paying the Sh324 billion principal amount for the loan utilized in the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway.
A week ago, President Kenyatta directed the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to identify more revenue-generating activities.
Days prior, he had challenged Chief Justice David Maraga to expedite cases revolving around tax rows, a day after Maraga's rant about mistreatment from the executive.