SRC says it will review about 150 types of allowances paid to public servants.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission, SRC, has laid concrete plans to cut down on the run away wage bill.
SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich has said that the public service had over 150 different types of allowances, both remunerative and facilitative; that consume a large chunk of the Country’s resources.
While addressing a media briefing on Thursday 21st March, 2019, at Intercontinental Hotel, Mengich said the Commission will amalgamate some allowances and even scrap ‘unnecessary’ ones.
“I think it’s time that we came out as Kenyans, as leaders, to look at our country so that when we are making demands it should be on the basis of affordability,” she stated.
Allowances consume a big chunk of the public wage bill. It is important that we address it, said SRC Commissioner Komora at the briefing.
The government of Kenya has 700,000 public officers. They’re paid Ksh 733 billion every year which is 53% of the cash raised from taxes.
Every public servant gets an automatic salary increment every year (annually). The increment is 4%.
Some of the allowances that have been reviewed in the past include: housing allowance (paid in terms of towns banding) and leave allowance that is paid annually.
Other allowances that SRC has reviewed are: hardship allowance and daily subsistence allowance.
“We are anticipating a situation where we will reduce the 150 by half but of importance is that there is more allowance that will account for over 100 percent of the basic salary. We all know the job is compensated through basic salary,” she stated.
“The new rates that the commission is giving today shall be the only allowances to be applied to both the public and State officers.”
