State targets Sh182b cut in public wage bill : The Standard

The government has convened a three-day conference as it eyes to trim public wage bill by at least Sh182 billion.  The conference, which is set to discuss the country’s rising wage bill next week, comes in the wake of mounting liquidity pressure in both the national and county governments that has been worsened by piling debt repayments. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is the convener of the conference that will bring together all State departments, ministries, commissions and county heads, as well as representatives from the private sector and civil societies. “The public wage bill has reduced from 57 per cent of revenues in 2013 to 48.1 per cent in 2018 as a result of revenue growth and initiatives by the SRC,” said SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich at a press briefing in Nairobi yesterday.

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“However, concerted effort by all arms of government is required to achieve a wage bill of not more than 35 per cent of revenue as per the PFM (Public Financial Management) Regulations (2015) and a wage bill of not more than 7.5 per cent from the currently estimated 7.9 per cent in line with developing countries.” This will, however, be a tall order for the government since achieving the wage bill target of 35 per cent of revenues would mean trimming public sector salaries and allowances by at least Sh182 billion. SRC has recently faced stiff opposition, particularly from parliament and the Executive, with the latter repeatedly passing resolutions to raise their perks.

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In August, the Parliamentary Service Commission paid every MP Sh250,000 backdated to October last year, pushing up the public wage bill by Sh1.2 billion annually. County governments have also been cited for the splurge on allowances, with wages taking up more than half of several county budgets.  

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In the first nine months of the 2018/2019 financial year, for example, counties spent Sh120.5 billion (52 per cent) out of Sh249 billion disbursements on personnel emoluments. This has largely been blamed on bloated administrations particularly county executive perks, with just 20 per cent of the devolved units’ total expenditure going to development activities.

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