New salary Structure  to save Ksh 8 Billion for Kenya taxpayers

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) reviewed salary structures for 2017-2022 is set to improve efficiency in the public sector and taxpayers up to Ksh 8 billion.

The scheme will affect salaries and allowances for the 2,222 MCAs, 349 MPs, 67 senators, 47 governors and the President among other top earners in public service according to Sarah Serem, Chairperson SRC.

“To ensure that the desired public services are delivered in a cost-effective and fiscally sustainable manner will require effective management of wage bill spending,” said Sarah Serem, SRC Chair.

“The goal is to bring the wage bill to sustainable levels below 35 percent of domestic revenue. This will go a long way in ensuring the public sector wage bill is within the threshold in the Public Finance Management Act.” 

In the structure, a President and the deputy will earn a monthly gross of Sh1.4 million and Sh1.2 million respectively down from Sh1.650 and Sh1.40 million.

Cabinet Secretaries will now earn fixed salaries of Sh924,000 down from Sh1.056 million. The Permanent secretaries to earn Sh 765,000 from Sh 874.500.

Governors will earn 924,000 shillings and their getting deputies 621,250 shillings, from the current 701,441 shillings.

Members of the County Assembly (MCA’s) on the other hand will be getting 144,375 shillings from the current 165,000 shillings.

“Public officers must at all times be accountable to the people and live modest lives and the new structure will contain payment of fixed salary depending on the economy’s performance,” Serem said.

At the county government, the governor’s allowance together with those of their deputies has been scrapped off.

Special responsibility allowances and special sitting allowances for Members of Parliament, Senators and other government officials have been enjoying have been abolished. The reimbursable mileage allowances too have been scrapped off, replacing them with zoning distances both for the senate, national government and county governments.

SRC had early in the year presented a preliminary report to President Uhuru Kenyatta, who hinted during the State of the Nation Address in March that salaries of State officers would be reviewed downwards and asked the Parliament to adopt the report once tabled.

The new pay structure is based on a job evaluation report and a study by SRC. that evaluated 7,856 jobs in State corporations that include the Kenya Postal Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority, KenGen, National Social Security Fund, National Hospital Insurance Fund, and Kenya Power.

The report covers five sectors, among them the civil service, where SRC evaluated 3,339 jobs as well as 82 in the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).