Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has said the number of workers in the public service is approximately 900,000.

Speaking during a plenary session in the Senate on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, the CS said the number remains largely within the bracket of 900,000 despite newer recruitments, retirements, natural attrition and sacking of public officers.

The cabinet secretary was responding to a question by the leader of the majority party in the Senate Aaron Cheruiyot who asked about the exact number of public officers on the government payroll and how they can be reduced to cut down the wage bill.

“The approximate number of people in the public service, which is not a constant number is around 900,000. But the number keeps going down, going up, depending on various factors like natural attrition, retirements, sackings and such-like issues and the advice on stopping further recruitments,” Muturi noted.

Muturi stated that the number included people in the mainstream public service at the national and county levels. He also said that the number includes members of the National Police Service and the Teachers Service Commission.

Muturi on tackling wagebill

The public wage bill is at 46 per cent of the total revenue generated in the country. While this is seen to be higher than the targeted goal of 35 per cent, Muturi failed to address the Senate on the steps his administration would embark on to achieve a lower wage bill.

During a handing over ceremony in August 2024, Muturi’s predecessor Moses Kuria underscored the urgent need to bring down the public wage bill so that more money could be committed to development projects.

“Productivity remains a crucial issue. In April, during the third Wage Bill Conference at Bomas of Kenya, we identified that our wage bill is at 46% of tax collection, and our goal is to reduce it to 35% over the next three years,” Kuria stated.

During the handover event, Kuria told Muturi that the process of reducing the public wage bill would be unpopular but it was the moral decision to make.

He handed over to him documents with recommendations on how to tackle the ballooning public wage bill.

“It is a challenging task but it is necessary for the country’s economic health,” Kuria emphasised.