SRC Stops Six Allowances For Civil Servants In New Salary Cuts

By Getrude Mathayo / Published October 2, 2023 | 2:52 pm

On Monday 2nd^rd October, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) announced that the six allowances had already ceased to be payable.

Members of Parliament had threatened to dissolve the SRC in August 2022, after the committee proposed scrapping the Plenary Allowance for MPs and Members of County Councils (MCAs). According to the MPs, this would greatly affect their income as they are paid allowances for a minimum of four sittings per week.

In August 2023, SRC reviewed the allowances for state and public officers. The commission scrapped Retreat Allowances, Sitting Allowances for Institutional Internal Committees, and Taskforce Allowances for Institutional Internal Committees.

SRC had also reviewed the Daily Subsistence Allowance, where allowances for local travels have been standardized for respective grades of public servants.

The reviews were made in phase two of a process of streamlining allowances for state and public officers, as the commission aims to achieve transparency, accountability, equity, and fairness in remuneration, and to ensure affordability and fiscal sustainability of the wage bill.

Phase one of the review process saw the SRC scrap Plenary Sitting Allowances, Ministerial Allowances, and Taxable Car Allowances. The new SRC directive will have far-reaching implications and will affect civil servants in different job groups working in different ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). Some allowances will no longer be paid including general allowance, ministerial allowance, and taxable car allowance.

While the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) got 44.2% of the budget, the security sector got 20.9% and County Governments were allocated 18.8%. Another 8.5% of the wage bill has gone to the civil service, 4.3% to state officers and 3.4% has been allocated to other public officers. The review by SRC will also see state officers get a salary increment of 7-10%, which will be backdated to July 1.