KBC, IEBC Issue Apologies Over Salary Delays To Staff

The salary delays that have rocked the government ahead of the Easter holidays have seen civil servants across various government institutions start the month of April without receiving their salaries for March 2023.

Nearly every government institution has been affected by the cash crunch including both the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), two institutions that were in the eyes of Kenyans for most of 2022.

For KBC, sources confirmed to Viral Tea receiving an internal memo on Friday, April 7 from acting Managing Director, Samuel Maina, stating that they would not be paid before the Easter festivities.

"Management regrets to inform you that we are unable to pay the March 2023 salaries before Easter Holidays due to unavoidable circumstances.

"We are working round the clock putting in considerable efforts to ensure that the salaries are paid as soon as possible. Management apologises for the inconveniences caused," read the statement in part, which did not indicate a clear timeline as to how long the delays would last.

Viral Tea was also reliably informed that a majority of staffers would normally receive their monthly dues by the 28th of every month, meaning that the crisis was an extraordinary one for them.

A report by Citizen TV however indicated that only a few KBC staff received their pay through an arrangement with the Sacco, with those who are not members of the Sacco having to wait indefinitely.

The same case applied to IEBC with the office of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Marjan Hussein sending a memo to its staff regarding delays in disbursing the March 2023 salaries.

"This is to inform you that the Commission has experienced delay in processing and disbursement of March 2023 salary. The Commission requested for salary exchequer on 23rd March 2023 the same day when the e-payslips were disbursed.

"The delay has been occasioned by the National Treasury with no definite date when they will release the exchequer. The Commission regrets the inconveniences caused," read the memo.

Delays in remunerating salaries to the staff at KBC risk stifling efforts by Information, Communication & Technology, and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owalo to institute reforms to the state-owned media house in a bid to get it back to its competitive ways amidst the dominance by private media stations including Citizen TV, NTV, KTN among others.

Appearing before the National Assembly's Committee on Appointments on October 21, 2022, Owalo questioned the sustainability of the media house while stating that government institutions need to move away from depending on the exchequer.

He gave an example of the overhauling of KBC until it is able to pay salaries which match prevailing market rates and eventually proposing a pay structure to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to attract talent.

"We need to look at staff motivation at KBC. I believe that our remuneration architecture should be informed by an objective job evaluation exercise.

"The guiding principle should be the ability to pay. If KBC was turned around and it has the ability to pay, nothing would stop them from telling SRC these are the new salaries to enable them to attract and retain the staff they have," he stated.

Owalo on November 1, 2022, paid a visit to KBC's offices along Harry Thuku Road in Nairobi for a meeting with the board and senior management while beginning to honour his promise, but no other significant update has been issued on the same since, save for the station only getting exclusive rights to air the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The national broadcaster over the recent years has also come under threat from the private media houses in Kenya which have been raiding talent from KBC with the promise of better pay, leaving KBC badly exposed and weakened in terms of attracting and retaining talent.

In July 2021, the media house underwent a top-to-bottom rebranding and poached exciting talents who have previously been news anchors at rival TV stations, two of them from K24 being Shiksha Arora and Caren Kibbett contributing to one of the biggest drivers of traffic on their TV stations and social media channels.

The cash crunch crisis within the government had also led to a section of MPs raising alarm, and among them was Minority Leader in the National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi who lamented that the country cannot pay salaries nor can it finance its operations, adding that for the first time since independence in 1963, the government was unable to pay salaries to civil servants and Members of Parliament (MP).