- The CS made the remarks during the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) media briefing Friday at the Nairobi Safari Club.
- The brief came ahead of the 3rd National Wage Bill Conference se to be held at the Bomas of Kenya next week, 15-17 April 2024.
Image: Ministry of Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management
Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management Moses Kuria has disclosed that the Ministry will undertake a radical and comprehensive surgical reform of the public service to check the bloated wage bill.
Kuria said that the high wage bill is robbing Kenyans' of their hard-earned money, noting that they work for almost one million public servants.
"This is not a theoretical discussion, it is a question of morality, ethics, and fairness," stated the CS.
The CS made the remarks during the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) media briefing Friday at the Nairobi Safari Club.
The brief came ahead of the 3rd National Wage Bill Conference set to be held at the Bomas of Kenya next week, 15-17 April 2024.
In December last year, the national government committed to reducing its wage bill to 35% of revenue in line with PFM Act 2012, by 2028 and urged the county governments to align.
The commitment was made at the 10th Ordinary Session of the National and County Governments Coordinating Summit held at State House, Nairobi, under the Chairmanship of President William Ruto.
According to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), Kenya currently spends 47.3 per cent of total revenue on the wage bill, with over 60 per cent directed towards debt repayment.
SRC chair Lyn Mengich said in December that government operations and maintenance, development and international commitments all compete for limited resources generated as revenue.
“We live in a resource-scarce nation. Expenditure on the public wage bill, government operations and maintenance, development and our international commitments - all compete for limited resources that we generate as revenue in our country,” she said.
CS Kuria at the same time saluted the National Treasury for instituting monetary policies that have seen a reduction in inflation, a bullish shilling and an increase in foreign currency reserves to cover four months.
“On monetary performance, the Governor of the CBK is doing an amazing job, our exchange rate is ok, and inflation is under control. The forex cover is improving, and just by deliberate policy from this administration,” Kuria noted.
He added:
“By strengthening the shilling on our debt’s obligation within the last month, we have shaved off Sh1.5 trillion in debt simply on the back of an improved currency. Unfortunately, the gains on the monetary front are washed away by our fiscal management."
Kuria observed that the money allocated for development purposes is acquired through borrowing, which comes with exorbitant interest rates.
"We borrow to invest because all our development budget is fully funded by borrowing," he said.
Present at the media briefing was a team from the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) led by the Chief Executive Officer, Hon. Dr. Kipkurui Chepkwony and senior officials from the Public Service Commission.