President William Ruto says the government has frozen pay increases for senior State officers following proposals by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to cushion them against the rising cost of living.
The President on Friday said he has directed the SRC to freeze the proposed salary review until the commission establishes whether it is in line with best practices on income inequalities.
“I have instructed the Salaries and Remuneration Committee to give us international best practices as we need to reduce the gap between the people paid the least and those paid the most. It is not right for the people at the top to earn more than 100 times than those at the bottom,” President Ruto said on Friday.
At the same time, the President said he has proposed salary reviews for civil servants of between seven and 10 percent for the upcoming 2023/24 financial year.
“We have agreed that civil servants’ salaries be adjusted by between seven and 10 percent from tomorrow,” President Ruto added.
The commission, one of the independent bodies created under the 2010 Constitution to set and review the remuneration and benefits of public servants, on Thursday proposed to lift the gross monthly pay of top State officers by an average of 14 percent over the next two financial years.
President William Ruto’s monthly gross remuneration package would rise by 7.1 percent from July 2023 to Sh1,546,875 from Sh1,443,750 currently before a further 6.7 percent jump to Sh1,650,000 from July 2024.
On his part, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s monthly compensation would rise to Sh1,367,438 from Sh1,227,188 at present from July 1 before hitting Sh1,402,500, representing a cumulative 14.3 percent jump in his remuneration package over the two years.
If adopted, the proposals would have seen top State officials substantively cushioned from the runaway cost of living while the rest of Kenyans would continue to find themselves worse off in a biting inflationary environment.
Other top State officers who were set for the salary review, include Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Members of Parliament, County Governors, Senators and Members of County Assemblies.
The draft changes to the compensation of state officers were subject to public participation.
BusinessAfrica