President William Ruto, his Cabinet Secretary for Public Service and Delivery Management Moses Kuria and Mps were yesterday competing to oppose the salary increment by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) in effort to avert public outrage.
The implementation of the SRC’s gazette notice dated August 9 last year was taking effect this month coinciding with the anti-tax hikes which forced the President to withdraw the Finance Bill 2024.
After withdrawing the Finance Bill, the President announced austerity measures to reduce expenditure amounting to Sh346 billion announcing that the reduction will be borne by the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, and our constitutional commissions.
He further instructed the National Treasury to direct all accounting officers to ensure that only critical and essential services are funded, using no more than 15% of the budget, until the supplementary budget is approved.
But the SRC’s salary hike came a few days after the President’s ‘austerity plans’ which would spark criticism and outrage and to avert the anger from the members of public, the President, Cabinet Secretaries and Mps drawn from the government and the Opposition joined to oppose the salary increment.
The President through State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed said Ruto had directed the National Treasury to review the SRC’s Gazette Notice in light of the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024 & the fiscal constraints expected this financial year.
“The President has emphasized that this is a time, more than ever before, for the Executive & all arms of government to live within their means, said Mohamed at his X platform
While Mohamed was communicating the President’s message, Cs Kuria was busy drafting a letter which he later sent to media houses urging the Commission to de-gazette the implementation of the new salary structure in its entirety, across all levels of Government.
He said it was not sustainable to have 900,000 public servants from both levels of Government consume Sh1.1 trillion annually, which he claimed was equivalent to 47 percent of national revenues, while the rest of 54 million Kenyans with 53 percent, with debt servicing and development to cater for, among other expenditures.
“The PFM Act, 2012 provides that Kenya’s public Wage bill should not exceed 35 percent of the national budget. Our current trajectory Indicates a continual rise in expenditure on salaries, allowances, and benefits for public servants, placing immense strain on our national finances. This is not a challenge we can afford to ignore. Reducing the public wage bill requires a multifaceted approach, one that balances fiscal prudence with a commitment to fair compensation for our public servants,” Kuria said in the letter.
Mps, who have largely lied low over the range of protestors, also joined hands to oppose the salary hikes by SRC with some claiming that the salary hikes appeared like a set up to aggravate the situation especially between them and their supporters.
“There are things that almost look like a setup. We are in a crisis and SRC are proposing an increment of Sh14000, they want us to be beaten to a pulp so that they can be happy,” he wrote on his social pmeda pages. His Embakasi East counterpart Babu Owino said MPs and other state officers should not even add a coin.
“It’s sad to increase salaries while Kenyans have no jobs, Kenyans have no capital to start businesses, no money to pay fees and no money for medication,” the MP said.
Aldai MP Marianne Kitany also maintained that given the current state of affairs in the country and with the ongoing demonstrations and economic instability, it was not the right time to prioritize any salary hikes for public officials.
“If anything, we should be having a discussion on salary reduction but not hikes. We must focus on reducing unnecessary expenditures and concentrating on strategies to restore peace and strengthen our economy. It is also imperative to address the pressing issues at hand before considering such increments.”
Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma, on the other hand, termed the salary increment a scandalous affair while Senate Majority leader Aaron Cheruiyot called on Members of Parliament to reject the proposed salary increase, citing the current financial challenges.
“If it means taking a pay cut, we as Members of Parliament have been told that we will never do it. We don’t have an option, we must do it,” Cheruiyot said. Nairobi Women representative Esther Passaris also took to social media to reject the proposed pay rise
“This is akin to robbing a naked person! I reject any salary increments. It’s the exact opposite of what we’re calling for; austerity. It’s fiscally unsustainable and our current economic situation can’t absorb it. Let’s work towards living within our means,” she said.
The Azimio la Umoja coalition through its co-Principal Klaonzo Musyoka urged its members holding leadership positions to reject the recent salary increments proposed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) saying it would be insensitive for members of parliament to accept the salary increase amidst widespread public discontent.
Kalonzo criticized the government’s attempt to divert public attention from pressing issues by proposing salary increases for senior state officers amidst an economic downturn.
“It is deeply concerning that at a time when our economy is struggling, there are plans to adjust the salaries of senior state officers upwards. This move is not only insensitive but also indicative of the regime’s misplaced priorities,” Kalonzo said.
On his part National Assembly Minority leader Opiyo Wandayi said that he and his deputy had rejected the salary increments and urged the National Treasury to redirect the funds towards employing Junior Secondary School teachers and bolstering healthcare by hiring more workers.
He called on his colleagues to follow their lead in rejecting the pay rise, stressing the need for unity and solidarity in addressing the pressing issues facing the nation.
Council of Governors (COG through its chairperson joined the bandwagon saying “The council of governors urges for the immediate withdrawal of salary and benefits increments by Salaries and Remuneration Commission in light of the withdrawn finance bill 2024/25”
In the new salaries, which are effective July 1, while the salaries of the President and his deputy will remain the same, that of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and other Cabinet Secretaries will increase to Sh990,000 from Sh957,000.
Principal Secretaries, Inspector General and Director General NIS will now earn Sh819,844 up from Sh792,519 a month, Deputy Inspector General Kenya Police and Administration police, the Director of Criminal Investigations will earn Sh684,233 from Sh652,742 previously.
Speakers of the National Assembly and Senate will each take home Sh1,208,362 monthly up from Sh1,185,327 while Deputy Speakers will now take home Sh966,690 monthly, while Majority and minority leaders will take Sh800,019.
Members of the National Assembly and the Senate will also take Sh739,600 as gross salaries, up from Sh725,502 while at the devolved level of government, the salary of a governor has been adjusted from Sh957,000 to Sh990,000 while that of the deputy county boss will rise from Sh652,742 to Sh684,233.
The salary of a County Member of the Executive Committee will increase from Sh413,079 to Sh422,526 while that of the Speaker of the County Assembly has been adjusted from Sh537,003 to Sh549,283. That of a Deputy Speaker will earn Sh247,943, up from Sh231,722 a month, while pay for Majority and Minority Leaders, who earn Sh191324,will increase to Sh204,717 and an MCA who takes home Sh154,481 will now pocket Sh164,588 monthly, according to the SRC gazette notice.