Lead image for How Uhuru government left private universities in Sh40bn debt hole.
Treasury CS John Mbadi has said that private universities are choking under a Sh40 billion debt incurred during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Mbadi revealed his office is struggling to pay debts incurred by the government to private universities between the 2016 and 2021 financial years.
Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi.
“I have huge files on my desk from private universities demanding payment for services provided between 2016 and 2021. It’s a substantial outstanding bill, as one university alone is owed Sh3 billion,” he said.
“We have been living a lie, especially towards our private universities, because we promised to pay, but did not,” he told the committee.
He made the remarks when appearing before the committee regarding pension arrears owed to current and former Technical University of Kenya (TUK) staff, warning that many retirees had waited too long for justice.