SRC Saves Kenyans Ksh2.8 Billion, Rejects Dubious Salary Requests

Photo of SRC chairperson Lyn Cherop Mengich taken on June 17, 2021.
Photo of SRC chairperson Lyn Cherop Mengich taken on June 17, 2021.
Photo
Lyn Cherop

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) on Thursday, May 25, revealed it approved requests worth Ksh411 million against the 65 requests from public institutions amounting to Ksh3.2 billion. 

Through this intervention, SRC saved taxpayers Ksh2.8 billion, equivalent to 12.7 per cent of the total requests.

In a press statement, SRC stated it received 65 requests from public institutions between January to March 2023, for the financial year 2022-2023.

The commission further explained that the cumulative cost of requests by public institutions for the three quarters of the Financial Year (FY) 2022/2023 is Ksh5.9 billion, compared to Ksh18.8 billion in a similar period in FY 2021/2022. 

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu speaking at a conference on Monday, April 24, 2023.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu speaking at a conference on Monday, April 24, 2023.
Photo
OAG

At the same time, SRC noted that expenditure on Personnel Emoluments (PE) in county governments remained above the Public Finance Management (PFM) threshold. 

As per the Office of Controller of Budget (OCOB), the total expenditure on PE in county governments was projected to increase from Ksh90.4 billion in the second quarter to Ksh126.02 billion in the third quarter. 

In Q3 of FY 2022/2023, the expenditure on PE in the national government was projected to be Ksh190.82 billion, up from Ksh127.21 billion in the second quarter.

Wage bill trends

SRC indicated that the wage bill to nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio was 7.91 per cent in FY 2016/2017, rising to 8.82 per cent in FY 2019/2020. 

The ratio decreased to 8.25 per cent in FY 2020/2021 and was projected to reduce further to 7.73 per cent in FY 2021/2022.

At the same time, SRC projected this ratio to decrease towards 7.5 per cent, in line with the average for developing countries, and approximately 7 per cent, the internationally desirable level.

“The wage bill to ordinary revenue ratio was 56 per cent in 2020/2021, and projected to reduce slightly to 51.77 per cent in FY 2021/2022,” SRC stated.

Gross Domestic Product

The real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 4.8 per cent in 2022, compared to a revised growth of 7.6 per cent in 2021. 

Further, SRC noted that Kenya’s economy was expected to grow by 6.1 per cent in 2023 and to maintain that momentum over the medium term.

President William Ruto (right) chats with his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua during a Sunday service at Isiolo High School, Isiolo County on May 21, 2023.
President William Ruto (right) chats with his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua during a Sunday service at Isiolo High School, Isiolo County on May 21, 2023.
Photo
PCS

Public Service Employees

According to the commission, a review of the Economic Survey 2023 shows Kenya’s total workforce stood at 12 million.

Of this, 2 million constitute the formal sector, including government civil service, parastatals, and private sector employees.

Public service employees rose from 774,700 in 2015/2016 to 923,100 in FY 2020/2021. 

On average, the public service labour force grew by 4.34 per cent as of FY 2020/2021 and was projected to grow by the same rate to 963,200 employees in FY 2021/2022.