President Uhuru Kenyatta has endorsed bid by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to scrap some public service allowances, saying it could help meet one of the African Union’s recommendations on good governance.
While launching the report on the second assessment of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), President Kenyatta said reducing the wage bill, an attempt that has failed in the past, remains his goal.
The SRC announced last week it was checking the appropriateness of up to 149 different allowances public servants enjoy.
Some of the perks include housing, hardship, travel, and sitting allowances, meant to help reduce the burden of wage bill, currently eating up to two thirds of the budget.
At State House, the President who was addressing senior civil servants, diplomats and public policy assessors from the African Union, said he supports SRC’s move.
“With respect to the overall cost of operating a devolved system of government and the ballooning wage bill, appropriate measures have been conceived and are being implemented to address those issues comprehensively.
In this regard, I want to make it clear, I fully support the guidelines issued by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) on salary scales for the Public and State Officers. The Commission’s efforts will help in containing the public wage bill.”
The actual percentage saved may only be clear once the SRC pushes through the respective cuts, and assuming civil servants unions will accept the chop.
Mr Kenyatta spoke after the APRM report identified high wage bill, insecurity and corruption as key challenges that could derail Kenya’s path to achieving sustainable development goals.
Adopted in 2003, the APRM is a series of checks on governance which AU member states voluntarily sign on to monitor themselves.
By Daily Nation
