- Major challenge in evaluating and determining the remuneration of the Services has been the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s use of inappropriate tools
- The team recommended that the basic salary of the members of the three Services be raised by 40 per cent at the lowest constable level
Image: PCS
After spending almost a year in the field, a task force appointed to review reforms in the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service and National Youth Service finally delivered its report in November.
The 20-member National Taskforce on Improvement of Terms and Conditions of Service and other reforms for members of the services delivered various recommendations in a report to transform them.
The report was on November 16, handed over to President William Ruto who pledged to ensure it is implemented.
Why Maraga's team was formed
The team led by former Chief Justice David Maraga had been appointed by Ruto in December 2022, to spearhead reforms to be implemented in the three services.
Ruto said last December that perennial welfare challenges continue to compromise the efficacy and ability of the police and prisons to effectively deliver on their solemn mandate.
The president said there is a compelling public interest in institutionalising welfare reforms of internal security organs whilst also fostering the citizen-facing service elements of the National Police Service whose pace of reform matches public expectations.
Salary increment proposal
Key among the proposals by the Maraga-led committee was a proposal to increase the police officers' salaries by 40 per cent in the next three years.
This means if an officer is earning Sh30,000, he or she will get 12,000 more.
The team concluded the remuneration and allowances payable to the members of the three services have been one of their key grievances.
The task force noted that a major challenge in evaluating and determining the remuneration of the Services has been the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s use of inappropriate tools and its lack of recognition that the services’ mandate and nature of work are unique and different from that of mainstream Public Service in terms of decision-making, risks, and disruption of family life, among other factors.
The team recommended the creation of “the Disciplined and Security Services Sector” comprising the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), National Intelligence Service (NIS), NPS, KPS, and NYS as a separate budget sector.
The team recommended that the basic salary of the members of the three Services be raised by 40 per cent at the lowest constable level with a decompression ratio, based on the current salary.
For non-uniformed members of NPS, given their work environment, the Taskforce recommended a new allowance to improve their terms and conditions of service.
To address complaints of misappropriation, the task force recommended that the payment of all allowances should be automated and promptly made directly into the officers’ bank accounts.
National Police Service Commission
The team wanted the members of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) to leave office.
This caused jitters in the commission with the possibility of leaving the secretariat to run the affairs there if the recommendations were implemented.
The team said the NPSC leadership has acquiesced to the continued usurpation of its functions by the National Police Service leadership, thereby exacerbating the vices that it was established to redress.
It has also generally been unable to develop policies and institute measures that would enable it to perform its constitutional and statutory obligations.
“In the circumstances, the task force has been left with no option but to recommend that the government considers initiating a negotiated exit, or any other legally recognised modality, for the current Commissioners of NPSC,” said part of the report
Police airwing
For NPS Airwing (NPSAW), the recommendations for it to be restored to the service was a relief.
The airwing has no working aircraft and this has left them exposed. The team recommended that the Police Airwing be restored to the exclusive control of NPS forthwith.
However, the restored Airwing should be operated in strict adherence to Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) standards on maintenance and airworthiness, including qualifications, training, and relevant accreditation of professionals working in NPSAW.
The task force urged Parliament to provide adequate resources and budgetary support for the effective and optimal operation of NPSAW.
Alternatively, the Taskforce recommended the Lease Hire of Police aircraft as is the case with Police motor road transport.
Ageing equipment
The task force urged the government to adequately fund the NPS to modernise its facilities, equipment, and gear, and enhance its logistical and technological capabilities.
They also urged the state to provide decent housing for NPS officers to enable the Service to discharge its mandate efficiently and effectively.
Traffic police
The team recommended the restructuring of the current Traffic Police Unit into a new Traffic Management Unit that is well-trained, leaner in numbers, and mainly reliant on technology to control and manage traffic flow in the country.
“The taskforce envisages the use of technology in the detection of traffic infractions, and the attendant fines becoming cashless by use of technology.”
“While that is being done, the task force recommends appropriate amendment of Section 65 of the NPS Act within six months and the abolition of police roadblocks and their replacement with mobile patrol units,” the team says.
NYS management.
The team said NYS should be moved to the Ministry of Interior.
It recommended that NYS should be domiciled in the Ministry of Interior for better coordination, given its core functions, and to end the itinerant character that has plagued the Service over the years.
Further, the team also recommended that all top prisons and police officers be vetted within six months.
This is aimed at addressing leadership challenges that are affecting the prisons.
“To address these leadership challenges and corruption in the KPS, the task force recommended a fresh vetting by an independent panel to be appointed by the President for all officers of the rank of Senior Superintendent of Prisons (SSP) and above (save for the current CGP) within six months of publication of the Report,” says the report by the team.
It said the entry requirement into the Service should be capped at a minimum grade C minus (C-) except for candidates from marginalised areas.
To address the challenges around immaturity prevalent in the entrants, the minimum recruitment age should be raised from 18 to 21 years for the respective Services, the team said.
To be able to undertake relevant theoretical and practical training including field attachments to ensure competency in training and professionalism, the initial training for cadets should take not less than 15 months while the one for constables should not be less than 12 months.
“As is the case with the NPS, the Taskforce established that the stagnation of the KPS junior officers in one rank, in many cases until retirement, is a source of widespread discontent and low morale in the Service."
"The Taskforce, therefore, recommends the establishment of grades of Inspector II and I and the introduction of Constable III, II, and I, and Corporal III, II, and I within the same ranks, all of which must be filled through open and competitive promotions process based on merit.”
It recommended that the Kenya Police revert to the old blue uniform.
The team said the Cabinet Secretary for Defence, in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, should develop and propose legislation for the establishment of a National Uniforms Committee composed of representatives from the Disciplined and Security Services whose mandate will be to approve standards, colours and qualities of uniforms for use by each Service.
This recommendation flows from the numerous complaints voiced on the quality and supply of uniforms to the members of the three services.
“As regards the NPS uniforms, in line with the overwhelming views of members of the public, police officers themselves, and the leadership of NPS, the task force recommends that the NPS reverts to its old uniform for three years, during which a process of designing a new uniform should be commenced by the recommendations in this Report.”
Medical insurance
It recommended the non-renewal of the 2023 medical insurance contract to ensure that any future medical insurance negotiations should ensure there is an adequate transition period to avoid disruptions.
It added any new insurer should have and provide proof of adequate, accessible, and effective accredited service providers taking into consideration the nature of the services required especially in the “forward” areas and the insurance scheme should comprehensively cover mental health.
For effective and optimal utilisation of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Forensic Laboratory, the task force urged Parliament to enact enabling legislation to establish an adequately funded and well-regulated National Forensic Laboratory under the DCI but open to using by other criminal justice sector institutions.
The team said it received complaints of encroachment on to and outright grabbing of pieces of land owned by the services and recommended that the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and National Administration should, within six months, appoint and facilitate a committee to carry out an inventory of the three Services’ institutional land and ensure its titling.