This archive report was first published on 21 November 2019.
Published on November 21, 2019, the government convened a three-day conference to discuss reducing the public wage bill by at least Sh182 billion. The conference aimed to address the country's rising wage bill, which has worsened liquidity pressure in both the national and county governments.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is the convener of the conference, which will bring together all State departments, ministries, commissions, and county heads, as well as representatives from the private sector and civil societies.
According to SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich, the public wage bill has reduced from 57 per cent of revenues in 2013 to 48.1 per cent in 2018 due to revenue growth and initiatives by the SRC. However, she emphasized that concerted effort by all arms of government is required to achieve a wage bill of not more than 35 per cent of revenue as per the PFM Regulations (2015).
Trimming public sector salaries and allowances by at least Sh182 billion would be necessary to achieve the wage bill target of 35 per cent of revenues. However, this would be a tall order for the government, given the opposition from parliament and the Executive, who have repeatedly passed resolutions to raise their perks.
County governments have also been cited for the splurge on allowances, with wages taking up more than half of several county budgets. In the first nine months of the 2018/2019 financial year, counties spent Sh120.5 billion (52 per cent) out of Sh249 billion disbursements on personnel emoluments.
