National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei has elucidated why public servants are afforded higher allowances than their basic monthly salaries.
According to Shollei the system has been long etched in Kenya’s history and was created as a counteractive plan to cushion the government from a higher pensionable liability.
“The issue has a history. There was a point in time when the government did not want to have alot of responsibility on pensions. So what they did, instead of increasing your basic salary they decided to increase allowances so they could have less burden on the pension,” she said speaking to Citizen TV on Tuesday.
“When people start saying there’s too many allowances in the public service wage bill, it was deliberate. There is no other logic about it.”
The legislator further noted that the government adopts any mechanism that protects it from paying high pensions to public servants, citing an example of the time when retirement age for public servants was extended from 55 to 60 years.
“It was because at the time government was not able to pay pensions. There is a historical issue about it which we don’t discuss and it has come to haunt us now,” she said.
The haunting she was referring to is the move by the government to tame the high wage bill that has forced government institutions to take a frugal approach to paying salaries.
Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) Chairperson Lyn Mengich has advised employers to not increase salaries for civil servants, saying the move will help achieve fiscal sustainability and harmonisation.
“Employers are therefore advised not to consider any review of financial items where there is no demonstration of the ability to afford and sustain a review among other considerations,” she stated during the 3rd National Wage Bill Conference on Monday.
The same precipice has also seen doctors bearing the brunt of rationed spending as they have not received their requested pay, forcing them to conduct a nationwide strike.
Mengich has previously opined that the nation’s retirement age should remain at 60 to prevent the nation from paying high pensions.
She argued that it would be impractical to dispose of employees at a fairly young age while they still possess a rich experience that bolsters the Kenyan workforce.
Allowances in Kenya
The SRC is mandated to regularly review remuneration and benefits for all state officers in line with Article 230(5) of the Constitution depending on specific job groups (B1 to E4).
In August 2023, the commission embarked on a phase 2 review of allowances in the public service with the aim of creating equity in managing allowances and guiding the government to manage the wage bill.
A myriad of allowances were set to be put under scrutiny which include:
1. Retreat allowance
This is payable to public officers participating in special assignments meant to review, develop and produce policy documents away from their workstations.
2. Sitting allowance
This is paid to members of Institutional Internal Committees which are constituted to facilitate the execution of the institution’s mandate.
3. Taskforce Allowance
Members of any internal institution task force are qualified to receive this allowance. SRC however advised that public officers shall not be paid for more than one task force for the same period.
SRC also advised that the allowance shall be paid upon completion of a task as per rates advised by the SRC.
4. Daily Substinence allowance
This is meant to facilitate public officers to attend to official assignments away from their main duty stations, locally or abroad.
For local travel, the allowance ranges from Ksh.4,200 for grade A1-B2 workers up to Ksh.18,200 for grade E4-E5 workers.
Allowances for foreign travel range depending on a specific country, all payable in US dollars.
Other allowances all public servants are entitled to include a leave allowance -issued once a year-, a monthly commuter allowance, a house allowance and a risk allowance.
Again the prices differ as per the different job groups.
