Top State officers win big in new salary review

Top State officers, civil servants and teachers are set to earn higher salaries and perks after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) announced a raft of adjustments to harmonise public service wages yesterday.

And to add pudding to the sweet cake, the new pay will be backdated to July 1.

SRC has, however, left out President William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from the pay increase in line with the directive they had issued on June 29, saying they would not accept higher pay.

The President had in June directed the SRC to freeze the proposed salary review for himself and his deputy until the commission establishes whether it is in line with best practices on income inequalities.
“It is not right for the people at the top to earn more than 100 times than those at the bottom,” Ruto had said at the time.

The President’s pay package remains Sh1,443,750 while Gachagua’s will remain Sh1,227,188 per month as gazetted in 2022.

Under the new package for teachers, who appeared to have been the biggest beneficiaries of the latest increment, the highest paid teacher — in Grade D5 — will earn at least Sh173,422. In that rank, a seven per cent increment will see teachers who earn a basic pay of Sh131,380 rise to a minimum of Sh140,577 (see separate story).

Similarly, State officers, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula and his Senate counterpart Amason Kingi get the highest pay rise of up to Sh224,131. They will now earn Sh1.18 million gross salary, up from Sh961,196.

In a gazette notice dated August 9, 2023, SRC announced that the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Attorney General Justin Muturi, Head of Public Service Felix Kosgei, Secretary to the Cabinet Mercy Wanjau, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu and incoming Independent Election Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chair, all governors, and all Cabinet Secretaries will now get a salary increase of Sh182,800 from Sh774,200 to Sh957,00 each.

Principal Secretaries will take home Sh792,519 in the new arrangement.

Senate Deputy Speaker Kathuri Murungi and his National Assembly counterpart Gladys Shollei come third with an increase of Sh179,304, translating into a gross salary of Sh948,261 per month up from Sh768,957.

Registrar of Political Parties Anne Ndiritu, all vice chairpersons and commissioners of constitutional commissions will earn Sh169,000 more, to take home a gross of Sh674,000 up from Sh657,100.

Deputy IG

Following closely is Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, Inspector General of Police Japheth Koome, Director General of National Intelligence Service Noordin Haji, IEBC vice chairman and commissioners, director of Public Prosecution, all commissioners in other commissions and all of who will get Sh167,008 more from the current gross salary of Sh625,511 to Sh792,519.

Both National Assembly and Senate Majority and Minority leaders will get Sh163,907 extra from Sh620,861 to Sh784,768 while both Deputy Inspector General of Kenya Police Service and Administration Police Service, Director of Criminal Investigations Mohammed Amin, all deputy governors and all commissions chief executive officers earn an equal increase of 161,097 to 652,747 up from Sh491,650.

Data Protection Commissioner Immaculate Kassait closes the rank of state officers with the highest salary increase with Sh156,850 to earn a gross of Sh642,125 up from Sh485,275.
Senators and Members of Parliament get an extra Sh140,201 to take home a gross salary of 725,502 from the current Sh585,301

At the county assemblies, the Speakers will get Sh134,801 more to pocket a gross of Sh537,003 while their deputies get an additional Sh32,689 to take home Sh231,722.

Third Cycle

The salary of Members of the County Assembly gets the least increase of Sh11,792 to earn a gross of Sh154,481, up from Sh142,689.

Under SRC Act, the commission yesterday said that it set out a four-year review cycle for remuneration and benefits in the public service with the first cycle running between 2013/14 to 2016/17, the second cycle between 2017/18 to 2020/21 while this current review falls under the current cycle that begun in 2021/22 to 2024/25 financial years.

SRC added that it froze the increase of salaries for the first two years of the third cycle (between 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial year) due to hard economic conditions occasioned by Covid-19 pandemic.

“In 2022, the economy sustained the growth momentum that started in 2021, after the recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hence the review for the third and fourth year of the third cycle,” SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich said.

The sectors below the average current gross market are inclusive of State officers averaging at 45 per cent, civil service in both national and county governments and county governments at 39 per cent, teaching service at 36 per cent and public universities at 49 per cent.

The commission said that the average increase will be averaged between seven to 10 per cent which will run for a period of two years. In that period, President Ruto and his deputy will earn a constant gross salary of Sh1.4 million and Sh1.2 million respectively.

However, next year from July other State officers serving in the national and county government will receive another pay rise where speakers of the national assembly will earn Sh1.18 million each.

Prime Cabinet Secretary, governors and CSs will receive Sh990,000, MPs and senators Sh739,600 while MCAs will take home Sh164,588.

The harmonization of remuneration structures, Mengich said, will be a progressive process targeting all civil servants who earn below the 50th percentile of the market positioning while freezing increases for those above the mark.

State corporations’ officials, commissions and independent offices secretariat are among the best-paid public servants categorized at 89th and 84th percentiles, respectively.

Teachers have a reason to smile after the government awarded the Teachers Service Commission lion’s share of Sh9.5 billion