Kenya Army Commander Lt General David Ketter has moved to calm concerns among service personnel following the rollout of the new Pay-As-You-Eat (PAYE) programme.
Speaking during his first baraza with troops based at the Kenya Army headquarters in Nairobi, Ketter assured the officers that the system will be implemented transparently and with their best interests at heart.
He reaffirmed the KDF’s unwavering commitment to personnel welfare, stating that the new programme is not intended to punish or disadvantage officers, but to enhance dignity, choice, and accountability in the provision of meals.
“I want to make it absolutely clear, there is no plan to deduct your meal allowance from your payslips or force anyone into any financial channel such as DESACCO,” he stated.
“The PAYE system is built around you, giving you the freedom to decide what to eat, when, and how.”
He described the PAYE programme as a progressive shift that reflects modern logistical and welfare practices, tailored to empower soldiers while improving service delivery across units.
Ketter acknowledged the anxiety among some personnel, especially over rumours of reduced take-home pay and restricted access to allowances.
“These fears are understandable, but they are based on misinformation,” he said.
“You will still receive your full meal allowance. What the programme does is ensure that the funds are properly used to provide quality, nutritious meals in a system that you control.”
The Commander emphasised that any unused portion of the locked funds on the KDF meal App will be returned to the soldiers at the end of the month.
He encouraged officers to take advantage of the system’s flexibility and assured them that improvements to dining facilities will be continuous and responsive to feedback.
“Our focus is to create a dignified and convenient mess experience, one where you can walk in, eat, and walk out with ease and satisfaction,” he said.
Ketter further committed to ensuring a soldier-centric approach to enhance mission readiness.
This, he stated, will be achieved through championing adaptive leadership, efficient resource utilisation and the ability to generate decisive outcomes in operational environments.
KDF recently directed the locking of lunch allowances for military officers and channelling the same to PAYE meals.
According to a memo obtained by the Star, KDF officers will no longer receive the meal allowance, which is part of their monthly benefits.
“Meal cash allowance will be paid through DESACCO (Defence Savings and Credit Co-operatives Society) in order to deter service personnel from taking out loans,” the internal memo reads.
In the memo, the cash will now be channelled to the PAYE lunch programme, and the remainder will be transferred to their Sacco.
However, officers get access to the remaining locked meal cash if not fully used at the end of the month.
“Half of the allowance will be locked on the KDF Booking meal App, which, if not used, can be released at the end of the month.”
The communication, military sources confide, was in response to a decision by several junior officers to forgo meals following the rollout of the new system.
The officers see the move to lock the allowance in the meals app as an inducement to use the new lunch programme.
The allowance, or ration cash allowance, was conferred on military personnel in 2000 after the scrapping of breakfast and dinner.
KDF officers began paying for their lunch at the start of this month, following the end of the subsidy programme on June 30.
In a circular dated June 23, the Army Headquarters directed units to demand Ration Scale Four for 14 days as seed capital for the transition.
“Please note that it is envisaged the proceeds of the Seed Capital will form a self-sustaining revolving fund to be administered by the PAYE management committees established at Fmn/Base/unit levels to oversee operation of the messing facilities,” read the memo signed by Brigadier EN Kitusya.
KDF noted, in an earlier memo, that the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the former system necessitate the shift in the policy.
“To ensure a seamless transition and effective implementation of the PAYE system, roll out a comprehensive sensitisation programme for all service personnel to enhance understanding of the PAYE system,” the memo reads.
Commanders have also been instructed to leverage existing messaging infrastructure to support the new programme, with any further needs to be addressed progressively into the 2025/26 financial year.
The PAYE system, according to the headquarters, marks a significant shift towards a more accountable and sustainable logistics model within the military.
This, however, is not the first time the government has attempted to end the free meals for KDF officers, with each effort failing to gain traction.
The new system is a product of a committee that had been looking into the transition since October last year.
The committee’s mandate was to develop and recommend modalities for the successful implementation strategy of the system following consultations with various stakeholders.
The panel submitted its recommendations to the Service Commanders Committee Meeting on October 29, 2024.
“A subsequent presentation on December 17, 2024, outlined the implementation strategy and timelines for the PAYE system, which were reviewed and deliberated,” the document in possession of the Star reads.
