The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has insisted that the proposed salary increment for state officers for the financial year 2023/2025 stands despite its rejection by President William Ruto.
SRC denied that the move is meant to cushion senior government officials from the effects of increased taxes under the Finance Act 2023.
Moreover, due to what SRC terms as financial constraints, majority of civil servants under the low-income scale group will have to wait longer to enjoy the benefits of harmonization of the wage bill.
“We will be bound by the constitutional principles based on the five pillars guiding remunerations. We set to pay for a job, not an individual. An individual can decline but not the role. We set to pay for the roles. As an individual, that’s a personal prerogative,” SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich said.
While addressing the press on Saturday, July 1, Mengich stated that President Ruto is within his constitutional right to seek information regarding the harmonization of the wage bill across the public service, but not to instruct the commission on its mandate.
“President has a role in public participation. We engaged the presidency. He gave his feedback and asked for some information. Anytime the President might require a report from the SRC, in this case the compression ratio, it is within the context. It is his right to participate in the public engagements and ask for information…we will share information following his concerns,” she said.
The head of state had on Friday June 30 rejected the salary increment for state officers.
“I have instructed SRC to give us international best practice because we need to reduce the gap between all of us who work for the people of Kenya. We need to ensure that the gap between the people paid the least and the person paid the highest is not too big because we are all workers.” The President noted.
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However, SRC denied that the current review of salaries for State officers aims to cushion them from the impacts of increased taxes under the Finance Act 2023.
“It is not a reaction to the economic state but a requirement by the Constitution. It is not fair for public officers who froze salary increases for 2 years. It is in the SRC Act,” Mengich said.
Furthermore, SRC revealed that it needs Ksh.340 billion annually to effectively harmonize the wage bill against the Ksh.22.6 billion it received from Treasury for the Financial year 2023/2024. The cost of the wage bill stands at Ksh.998 billion and is estimated to reach theKsh.1 trillion mark.
“We do not have harmonized salary structures based on the cash deficit. We need to focus on productivity. There are CEOs who earn Ksh.5 million while the President is at Ksh.1.6 million…look at the contest …pay in public service doesn’t look at taking pay higher,” Mengich added.
