New ministerial positions created by the Kenyatta administration and that President Ruto wants to continue with will cost Kenyans even more money should a proposed legislation be passed by MPs.
To continue with the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) positions, it will cost the taxpayer at least Sh9.4 million a year to pay the salary of a single official, according to an evaluation undertaken by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
President Ruto is keen to have the CASs in place by way of the National Government Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023, which has already sailed through the Second Reading in the National Assembly.
The government is seeking legal grounding for the posts that the courts had declared unconstitutional last year.
The government-sponsored Bill seeks to amend the National Government Coordination Act, 2013 to entrench the positions.
President Ruto had appointed 50 CASs in a move that was largely seen as rewarding cronies and party loyalists.
The pay, which is as per the SRC’s job evaluation data obtained from the Public Service Commission (PSC), translates to at least Sh46.8 million in the five years of an official’s tenure, making them earn more than MPs.
The job evaluation report shows that the monthly gross pay of a CAS is capped at Sh780,000 higher than the Sh710,000 an MP pockets every month and includes Sh459,113 in basic pay, Sh165,000 house allowance and Sh155,887 in salary market adjustment.
“SRC has determined the monetary worth of the job of a CAS at grade F1 and would like to advise on the attendant remuneration and benefits structure,” SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich said in the March 14, 2023 letter.
The letter was addressed to Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Amb Anthony Muchiri and copied to Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, National Treasury PS Mr Chris Kiptoo, Public Service PS Mr Amos Gathecha and Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
Previously, individuals appointed as CASs have largely been political rejects who have lost an election.
The new proposal now makes the CAS position more attractive than that of an MP, which is subject to the rigours of a gruelling and often expensive campaign.
Additionally, a CAS is not a State officer and will be appointed without parliamentary vetting. Other benefits include an attractive annual medical cover extended to one spouse and up to four children below the age of 25 fully dependent on the CAS.
Once appointed, a CAS will be entitled an official car with an engine capacity not exceeding 3000cc.
The CAS shall be eligible to a car loan of up to Sh8 million and a mortgage facility not exceeding Sh35 million with an applicable interest of three percent per annum on a reducing balance for the duration of the loan.
A CAS will also be entitled to a Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) for local and foreign travel as per the SRC rates, Sh20,000 in monthly airtime allowance and security at their areas of residence and bodyguards provided by the police.
There is also the annual leave allowance paid at the rate of Sh50,000 per year, which “shall not be commuted to cash in lieu of leave”.
The retirement benefit includes a service gratuity calculated at the rate of 31 percent of the annual pensionable emoluments for the term served.
The Justice and Legal Affairs (JLAC) Committee of the National Assembly had capped the CAS positions to 22. However, within days of tabling its report, the committee that is chaired by Tharaka MP George Murugara, beat a hasty retreat, removing the cap in an addendum.
“In light of the varied roles that may be assigned to a CAS, JLAC noted that capping the number of CASs may affect the ability of the executive to recruit and deploy the number of CASs required to deliver its programmes,” ”the addendum to the report reads.
The implication of JLAC’s move is that, if President Ruto goes ahead to appoint 50 CASs as he had done in March last year, it will cost the taxpayer Sh2.3 billion to pay the officials in five years and Sh468 million in a year.
The five-year cost is enough to build 234 standard boreholes complete with all fittings. It costs close to Sh10 million to construct a fully fitted borehole and about Sh800,000 to construct a CBC classroom.
If the Bill becomes law, CASs, despite not being State officers, will rank above MPs in the pecking order and will be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the PSC.
