Sh11bn approved for State workers’ pay

A Sh11 billion proposal for new house and hardship allowances for civil servants has been approved.

Under the proposal exclusively seen by the Nation, the lowest-paid civil servant will be entitled to a minimum of Sh7,500 in house allowance while the highest-paid would get Sh130,000.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) proposal could see the lowest-paid civil servants in job groups A, B and C taking home a monthly minimum salary of Sh22,420, which includes the new house and hardship allowances. Those in the top job group T will earn Sh427,108 monthly.

A circular by PSC Secretary Alice Otwala shows that the increase ranges from 10 per cent to 100 per cent, depending on current job clusters.

“The allowance is proposed to be uniform for all areas as opposed to the current practice where officers in different regions get different rates,” Mrs Otwala said in the September 4 circular.

It also said the move is aimed at harmonising remuneration in the Public Service and improving conditions of service.

“The rates are comparable to those in a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics,” the PSC boss said.

COST TO EXCHEQUER

The proposed rise in house allowances will cost the exchequer Sh10.6 billion, while an additional Sh1 billion would go towards improving hardship allowances, the circular says.

The commission, however, proposes a phased implementation of the proposal if the Treasury is unable to accommodate the increase at once.

“The commission takes cognisance of the financial implications and proposes that in the event the government is unable to accommodate the allowances at once, an option of phased implementation would be viable,” Mrs Otwala said.

The proposals follow an agreement reached at a meeting earlier in the year between President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, the PSC and the Union of Kenya Civil Servants.

PSC chairman Margaret Kobia told the Nation that her team would now wait for the relevant government agencies to act on the proposals.

“Civil servants’ hardship and house allowances have not been reviewed for a long time. We have made proposals that will be subject to review by the National Treasury and Ministry of Devolution before implementation,” Prof Kobia said.

She said the rationalisation in the Public Service expected to end next February could slightly delay the new allowances.

NATIONAL WAGE BILL

“We also expect the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to look into issues that may affect the broader national wage bill,” Prof Kobia stated.

But UKCS Secretary-General Tom Odege accused the government of acting slowly despite the burden imposed on public servants by the high cost of living.

He demanded a one-off implementation. “We want the Ministry of Devolution to announce the implementation date of these proposals without any further delay,” Mr Odege said, warning that civil servants may take unspecified action if this was not done.

“We know there are people in there who think this is a joke. We want the government to implement the proposals by the PSC immediately. This matter was deliberated upon between us and the President and we hope no one in government would be acting in a manner likely to sabotage the President,” Mr Odege said.

Those in job groups A to J will get Sh5,000 in hardship allowance; job group K Sh5,446; job group L Sh6,134; job group M Sh7,307; job group N Sh8,511; job group P Sh13,607; job group Q Sh15,751; job group R Sh19,051; job group S Sh22,570; and job group T Sh34,128.

But only 19,419 civil servants operating in areas zoned as hardship areas would benefit from the hardship allowances, while all the 141,847 civil servants would get the house allowances as proposed.