The wage bill cannot be 13 per cent of GDP and 51 per cent of revenue at the same time. Why? If the wage bill was half the revenue, it would mean that revenue is 26 per cent of GDP. But we know that our revenue is just under 24 per cent of GDP.

The figures suggest that the disparities of the total earnings between the top and the bottom have declined but a closer look at the allowances show that they conceal more than they reveal. The allowances for the lowest job group include leave travel allowance of Sh4,000 and hardship allowance, which is not paid to everyone. The largest allowance is transport of Sh12,960, but this appears in some job groups and not others.

Job groups B,C,E and H seemingly don’t get transport allowance. It is impossible to figure out what the actual take home pay of any job group is from this data. This is deliberate obfuscation. It inflates the pay of the lower cadres so as to understate the magnitude of disparities. It is very unlikely that there is anyone in Job Group A taking home Sh34,000 a month.

Fellow Kenyans, there is something you need to know. Governments lie.