Taxpayers will save at least Sh767 million annually if a proposal to have commissioners serve on part term basis is passed by Members of the National Assembly.
An analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) the said amount will be saved largely from allowances the commissioners serving on a full-time basis pocket and the mortgage loans.
This will translate to Sh4.6 billion for the six years that commissions serve.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) Bill, 2023 targets the commissioners who are on full-term employment.
The budget office has, however, advised that since the proposed amendment affects specific Articles of the Constitution that formed the 10 constitutional offices, lawmakers should first amend the particular provisions before proposing to amend the principal Act.
“Once the constitutional amendment is enacted, then aligning the principal Act would be almost guaranteed,” reads the report.
Article 248(2) of the Constitution establishes 10 constitutional commissions and two independent offices.
In their advisory, the budget office has informed MPs that besides the savings, making the SRC a part-time commission may provide a calm working environment, hence reducing conflict of interest between the secretariat and the commission.
“Technicians are likely to work independently with least “nose peeping” from the Commissioners,” reads the report.
“If the amendments proposed on the Draft Bill are enacted, the government will save public expenditures approximated at least Ksh766.6 million annually. This will be on account of the forfeited salaries and other allowances,” reads the PBO report.
“These budgetary savings are estimated to be similar across all the financial years,” states the report presented to the Budget and Appropriations Committee scrutinising the Bill.
According to the parliamentary budget experts, commissioners serving full-time qualify for car loans and mortgages that the amendments will take away, implying the government will have another Sh504 million savings.
The commissioners also have an annual leave allowance of Sh700,000.
In the report, incidental expenses tied to the commissioners will reduce from Sh225,744,000 to Sh54,196,000.
“The enactment of the proposed amendments may generally reduce public expenditure pressures of the Commission and hence occasioning savings on public funds,” reads the report.
The experts have also warned that making the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to be a part-time entity may greatly reduce the core outputs of the commission due to limited time, a constrained work environment and a lack of motivation.
The Bill sponsored by Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa seeks deletion of Section 4 (3) and substituting to make the SRC chairperson and members of the commission serve on a part-time basis and limit the number of meetings to 15 per financial year from ‘at least’ four provided for the Principal Act.
