Kenya’s Public Servants are set to lose Sh2 billion ($A2 million) weekly from October after the Government’s Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) set the date for reforming the State’s complex and bloated allowances system.
Chair of the SRC, Lyn Mengich (pictured) said the work of her team was 80 per cent complete and would pave the way for the elimination and merging of some allowances in October.
There are currently more than 247 allowances covering pay and conditions in the Public Service, up from 31 in 1999.
They have the effect of doubling an officer’s monthly pay and account for 48 per cent of the State wage bill.
The Government wants to cap allowances at a maximum of 40 per cent of an officer’s gross pay, shifting from the present unregulated model.
The reform of allowances is coupled with a freeze on basic pay until 2025, reflecting the tough economic times resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Allowances that look set to be chopped cover entertainment, responsibility, medical and utility, and also involve subsidies for water, electricity and telephone calls.
The daily subsistence allowance, which the SRC says is widely abused to inflate pay, is similarly expected to be targeted.
Also implemented is a freeze in new hiring and a campaign to remove ghost workers — all aimed at reducing Kenya’s ballooning public sector wage bill that consumes more than half of taxes, impeding spending on development projects.
The Treasury had earlier made a commitment to the International Monetary Fund that the allowances would be reviewed as part of conditions tied to the multi-billion- shilling loan agreements that Kenya has agreed with the multilateral lender.
Nairobi, 14 July 2022
