SRC boss Sarah Serem. [Photo/standardmedia.co.ke]
The Kenya private sector alliance has commended the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) for taking a bold step towards curbing the ballooning public wage bill to a maximum of 35 percent of domestic revenue.
Through a statement to newsrooms the private sector alliance said, if not checked, the country’s wage bill will take a toll on the economy, leading to diversion of spending from projects with highest impact on economic growth, poverty reduction and the well-being of the citizens.
The alliance noted that the Public Finance Management (PFM) Regulations, 2015, directs that the national government expenditure on compensation to employees must not exceed 35 percent of the domestic revenues.
They have hence appealed to all leaders who join government after the elections not to use any means to discredit the good work that the Serem Commission has done.
On Monday, the Sarah Serem led SRC announced the new pay structure for the President, his deputy, legislators, Governors and state officers among others.
President’s pay according to the new structure drops from 1.6 to 1.4 million shillings while that of his deputy stands at 1.2 million shillings from the previous 1.4 million shillings.
The pay cut according to the commission will save taxpayers 9 billion shillings annually.