Government is not broke - Ukur Yatani

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has dismissed claims that the country's coffers are empty.

Yatani laughed off allegations that the country had less than Sh100m in its coffers, terming it 'ignorance' of how the government works.

Reports that the treasury had only Sh93.7 million broke last week with a section of leaders allied to President William Ruto saying he had inherited a broke country.

"We collect money on a daily basis and distribute it based on competing needs," the CS said on Thursday during the Senators induction in Naivasha.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei was among those who claimed the economy is on its deathbed.

Cherargei, in a tweet, said former President Uhuru Kenyatta "went home with everything" adding that his successor Ruto will fix it through economic transformation.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in his various addresses has raised concerns saying the country was facing an economic crisis.

The DP said that the new administration would have to work from scratch, adding that the government had pending bills running into billions of shillings.

But speaking during the ongoing induction of Senators at Sawela Lodge in Naivasha, CS Yatani chided those making the allegations.

"The government doesn't collect cash on a monthly basis before allocating it for different use and those claiming that there is only Sh93m are speaking out of ignorance," he said.

He however admitted that revenue collection was a challenge, a move that had affected the disbursement of funds to various institutions.

"The government has monthly obligations of paying salaries, sorting debts, disbursement to counties and judiciary among others and this relies on revenue collection," said Yatani.