In Kenya, reductions in public sector funding over the past five years have slashed the earnings of health and education workers by as much as half, forcing many into financial hardship, reveals a new report by international NGO ActionAid.
The report, The Human Cost of Public Sector Cuts in Africa, released Tuesday, highlights that 97 per cent of healthcare workers surveyed across Kenya and six other African nations—Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, and Nigeria—struggle to afford basic necessities such as food and rent on their current salaries.
The report has forced a majority of youth to reconsider a venture into the two sectors over the potential of further decline in earnings, even as the tough economic spells continue to cast doom.
The report attributes the decline in public servants' earnings in Kenya largely to the country’s borrowing practices, which have compelled the government to implement austerity measures in response to conditions set by international lenders like the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
It further criticises the IMF for driving the deterioration of public services across these nations by urging deep cuts in public expenditure to manage foreign debt repayments.
As the debt crisis intensifies across the Global South, over 75 per cent of low-income countries now spend more on servicing debt than on healthcare, according to Al Jazeera.
The debt crisis and the IMF’s insistence on cuts to public services in favour of foreign debt repayments have severely hindered investments in healthcare and education across Africa, according to the report and ActionAid Nigeria’s Country Director, Andrew Mamedu.
Meanwhile, Kenya's public sector wage bill has become a focal point of fiscal policy discussions. With the government spending over Ksh1.1 trillion on salaries and allowances, there are considerations for massive job cuts to align with the recommended cap of 35 per cent of tax revenues.
This situation has led to concerns about the sustainability of public sector employment and its impact on service delivery.
The report highlighted how insufficient budgets in the healthcare system had resulted in chronic shortages and a decline in the quality of service, alongside job concerns.
Further, the government has implemented austerity measures, including significant budget cuts across various sectors.
These measures have been criticised for promoting inequality and undermining efforts to address the needs of marginalised populations, particularly in the context of the ongoing economic challenges that Kenya is grappling with.
At the same time, you are more likely to create your own employment or be employed in the informal sector than in other sectors, according to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
The latest data released on May 6 showed that Kenya's economy added 782,300 new jobs in 2024, with a majority being in the private sector. This was 7.8 per cent fewer jobs than those created in 2023.
