Nandi Governor Stephen Sang has ordered newly appointed chief officers serving in his cabinet to regularly remit 10 percent of their monthly salaries as tithe.
Speaking on Monday, March 20, during the swearing-in of the senior officials, governor Sang, who is serving his second and last term said that the officers must give back to society.
He explained that he was issuing the directive after establishing that local churches require support from leaders and the county government.
The County boss further said he will follow up with clerics to give him names of those county officials who do not pay tithe since they were the ones who proposed the officers to him.
“All chief officers serving in my final term must act differently and start paying 10 percent of their monthly salaries to the church and be supportive to their families,” the governor said, noting that former senior officers who served in his first term had “declined” to support the church.
The new chief officers were sworn in at the county offices in Kapsabet at an event presided over by Anglican Church of Kenya Bishop Paul Korir and attended by other church leaders.
A tithe is one-tenth of annual produce or earnings paid as a contribution to religious organizations.
It was formerly taken as a tax for the support of the Church and clergy and was paid either in cash or in material forms such as cereals and animals.
Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more recently via online giving, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural produce.
