WORLD OF FIGURES: How to slash wage bill without pay or staff cuts

Peter Kagwi is wondering: “by how much should each government employee cut their salary in order for Kenya to realise a 20 per cent cut on overall wage bill? Does wage bill include other expenses like the notorious travel, hospitality and entertainment by these people?”

The last question is the easiest to answer: yes, the wage bill includes those allowances. My first job was at a public university and when I started, my basic pay was Sh4,500 while the house allowance was Sh5,000. One allowance was 11 per cent higher than the basic salary. At the entry level, I did not qualify for many other allowances: I later learnt that the more senior officers at the institution hardly ever utilised their salaries.

With that experience that lasted for 12 years, I am convinced that cutting basic salaries of government employees will not have any significant effect on the public wage bill. The biggest problem lies in allowances.

We should have a policy saying that no public servant should ever be paid allowances that are higher than their annual basic salary. I suspect that this would cut the wage bill by more than half. In addition, and perhaps more beneficial, the habit of workers going on unnecessary trips and attending irrelevant seminars  would come to an end.

So, my answer to Peter’s first question is this: we don’t need to cut anybody’s basic salary to achieve a significant reduction in the public wage bill! All that is needed is a cap on allowances.

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Robert Muiruri says that he has observed oil tankers “ come in different shapes mostly asymmetrical”. So he asks: “How do the fabricators determine the volume?”

He adds: “Since the tankers appear to be slanted towards the rear, substantial weight is directed to the last rear axle. Wouldn’t this disqualify them at the weigh bridge assuming the scale measures every axle?”

Even though the complete tank may look asymmetrical; a more careful observation will reveal that it is made of several symmetrical sections. Thus the manufacturer can calculate the different volumes and add them up. But it is important to note that the desired answer doesn’t have to be exact! As the following story demonstrates, the important value is the amount of liquid that is loaded: Thomas Edison-inventor of the electric light bulb; once asked a young mathematician to determine the volume of a bulb. Determined to prove his worth, the young fellow applied sophisticated formulae and did the calculation. The following day, he presented the result to Edison. Edison went to his office and came out after just a few minutes saying: “You’re off by 30 per cent”. The mathematician was shocked at how quickly the boss did the check. Then Edison replied: “I just filled it with water and measured the volume of the water!” I guess the story answers Robert’s second question as well!

www.figures.co.ke; Twitter: @mungaikihanya