SRC Defies Ruto's Wishes, Hikes Salaries Of Cabinet Secretaries

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) on Wednesday, August 9 increased the salaries of Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries despite President William Ruto's earlier dismissal of a similar proposal.

Lyn Mengich, SRC chairperson, in a press briefing, revealed that the Executive would be allocated Ksh126 million in the 2023/24 financial year, making up 0.6 per cent of the Ksh21.7 billion allocated for increments.

At the moment, a Cabinet Secretary earns a gross monthly salary of Ksh924,000, a house allowance of Ksh200,000 and a market adjustment of Ksh169,600. The new changes will see CSs earn Ksh957,000 per month.

SRC chairperson, Lyn Mengich. /KENYA NEWS AGENCY

A Principal Secretary earns a monthly salary of Ksh765,188, a house allowance of Ksh150,000 and a salary market adjustment of Ksh156,075.

Mengich however confirmed that the salaries of President Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua would remain as they are at Ksh1.4 million and Ksh1.2 million respectively.

The new changes also saw the salaries of civil servants increase by between seven (7) per cent and (10) ten per cent, with the amount backdated to July 1, 2023. Among those expected to receive the increased salaries include teachers, doctors, the police, the military and nurses.

For instance, a civil servant who earns a monthly salary of Ksh100,000 will pay between Ksh880 to Ksh2,400 in NSSF contributions and Ksh1,500 in Housing Levy. 

Despite the increments, Mengich had recommended the revocation of four allowances entitled to civil servants. Some of them were retreat allowance, sitting allowance for members of the institutional internal committee, taskforce allowance, and daily subsistence allowance.

President Ruto on Friday, June 30 rejected SRC's plans to increase his salary and that of DP Gachagua by 14 per cent but instead focus on reducing the wage gap between low and high-income earners.

He turned down SRC's proposal to hike his own salary, alluding to an internationally recognised system, and instructed SRC to develop to cut down the gap between civil servants' salaries before his own pay wage is increased.

"I have told SRC that there is an internationally accepted formula called compression formula. Until they come back to me and say they have met that formula, our salary increment will wait.

"But for the other people, the state officers, myself, my deputy, ministers, PSs, MPs and others. That salary would remain the way it is. Let it remain the way it is until SRC gives us international best practices because we need to reduce the gap," Ruto ordered. 

Explaining his move, Ruto noted that this would bring about a uniform salary system in the public service and address cases whereby some civil servants earned ten times more than others.

The President further expressed concern regarding the salary system, citing instances whereby some university vice-chancellors and parastatal managing directors were earning more than himself, before ordering SRC to explain the criteria in a detailed report that qualifies them for that huge pay.