Public servants including President William Ruto and his administration take home 48 per cent of the total wages in allowances, SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich has revealed.
In an official statement on the commission’s X page, the institution revealed that this is the highest percentage of allowances that public servants are taking home.
According to a report by the commission conducted in 2019, 247 allowances are paid in the public service, making up 48 per cent of the total wage bill.
This means that public servants are taking almost half of the total money spent on compensating public servants as allowances.
Head of Public Service Felix Koskei speaking during a meeting with Principal Secretaries and Accounting Officers on January 10, 2024.
Photo
Felix Koskei
This signifies a sharp increase from 31 paid allowances in 1999, 78 paid in 2006, 156 paid in 2014, and now 247 paid in 2019. This high proportion of allowances contributes to what has been termed an ‘unsustainable wage structure’.
SRC revealed that the continued payment of allowances that were long abolished, some that are centered on the basic salary, and the creation of mystery allowances are among the major contributors to the burden of Kenya’s public wage bill.
The wage bill is estimated to have hit Ksh1.17 trillion in the year to June 2024, according to a financial report by SRC in September 2024. In the financial year 23/24, public servants took home an additional Ksh24.8 billion in salaries between July and March this year.
According to the SRC, allowances remain a major challenge in the wage bill due to the lack of standardization and control over the types and amounts of allowances paid.
The commission highlighted situations where different public service institutions use varying justifications, eligibility criteria, rates, and payment methods for allowances. Most of these allowances were duplicated and unsupported, leading to a loss of public money.
Following this revelation, the SRC is taking steps to address these challenges. Some of the steps taken by the commission include the development and implementation of an Allowances Policy Guideline for the Public Service.
This guideline aims to streamline the management and administration of allowances and improve transparency, accountability, equity, and fairness in compensation.
SRC also aims to ensure the affordability and fiscal sustainability of the public service wage bill.
Some of the allowances that the public servants bag include remunerative allowances such as house and commuter, sitting allowance (paid on a daily rate); and hardship, extraneous, domestic, and risk allowances among others.
President William Ruto during the Cabinet retreat in Naivasha on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
PCS
