National Treasury data reveals the public wage bill totaled Sh507 billion by June 2022, accounting for 48.1% of total revenue—far exceeding the 35% cap set by the Public Finance Management Act 2015. This figure surpasses the global benchmark of 7.5% of GDP for public sector salaries.
Staff numbers have surged from 653,500 in 2010 to 884,000 in 2020, with 38,500 new hires recorded in 2021 alone. The wage bill climbed from Sh434.9 billion in the 2012/13 fiscal year to Sh827 billion in 2019/2020, reflecting an 184.66% increase since 2010.
Despite comprising less than 10% of Kenya’s population, public servants receive over half of collected taxes. Critics argue the unsustainable growth undermines infrastructure development, poverty reduction, and economic stability, urging measures to eliminate redundancies, ghost workers, and corruption.
Author and academic Mr. Muthama emphasizes the need for fiscal discipline, stating that excessive payroll spending hampers progress toward national development goals and exacerbates the ongoing economic crisis.