SRC’s Move That Will Affect Allowances Paid to State Officers
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) will soon make public guidelines that will cap allowances for state officers at the rate of 40 percent of their basic pay.
The SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich revealed that the guidelines will be in the system by the end of June or the beginning of July.
The SRC chairperson said that the commission stopped receiving submissions from stakeholders on the proposal that was made last September hence completing the allowance for public input.
“We have gone through the views expressed by stakeholders during public participation. We will soon publish the guidelines. We are aiming to publish in June or early July,” said Mengich.
Mengich said that the new pay regulations are undergoing the due process. They will come into force once the SRC publishes them.
Allowances meant to be paid to civil servants for attending a retreat or for participating in a conference away from workstations will also be abolished.
In the Draft Allowances and Benefits Policy, SRC also intends to abolish the responsibility allowance that is paid to civil servants to cover additional roles.
Other cadres that required medical and security allowances and even entertainment allowances are targeted in the reforms.
Transport allowances will be limited to special cases as public sector employees will be encouraged to use public service transport and claim to be reimbursed if no transport allowance is provided.
Among the allowances targeted is the quarter per diem allowance that is paid to officers when they go out of the country.
Areas designated as hardship postings will also be reviewed along with the non-practicing allowances for judges and health workers.
The extra perks, are to blame for pushing the wage bill to a mammoth Sh. 820 billion.
For the financial year 2018/2019, allowances for more than 865,200 state and public officers were around the figure of Sh. 322 billion.
As of June 2013, the wage bill for the whole country was at. Sh 434 billion and rose to Sh. 526 billion in 2014.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has proposed allowances to be put into 10 broad categories, and within these categories, the extra pay will be harmonized.
This categorization will be into the following
- Commuter allowance
- House allowance
- Extraneous allowance
- Special responsibility allowance
- Overtime allowance
- Disability guide allowance
- Honoraria allowance
- Risk allowance
- Transfer allowance
- Foreign services allowances
Public service institutions shall be required to procure a comprehensive medical insurance cover or provide an in-house medical facility for their staff.
The intention of the SRC is to convert the money into extraneous allowances or social responsibility allowances for persons who are eligible to be part of their responsibility allowance.
On sitting allowances, MPs will be required to enact laws that will cap the frequency and number of meetings that boards of state corporations, tribunals, and committees will make.
Annual leave allowance that covers travel costs of officers will be standardized across the Public Service.
Extraneous allowances will cover working during weekends and holidays, working extra hours, and handling animals.
Special responsibility allowances shall be paid for activities sponsored officially, firearms handling, leadership, coordination, and support of management.
Allowances like accommodation, night out, out of the station, per diem, and maintenance allowances will be paid as daily subsistence allowance.
Mileage and motor vehicle will be paid as transport claims. The mileage and motor vehicle allowances are paid to cover the use of personal vehicles.
Facilitation of communications will cater for airtime, telephone, and mobile allowances.
These changes will be effected after public institutions have been given six months, effective on the date of the publication of the guidelines.
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