President William Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua are among the few civil servants that will receive salary increments in the next budget.
Budget details contained in the Parliamentary Budget Office report for the 2023-2024 financial year show that the country's two top offices and those of some commissioners and independent commissions are set for a two percent rise in salary and allowances.
This will see the President, his deputy, and the commissioners take home and additional Sh110 million in salary and allowances increments.
Already the country is struggling to meet its current recurrent expenditure which is expected to increase to Sh2.48 trillion in the next financial year.
“The salaries and allowances are mainly salaries to the President, Deputy President, and other commissioners and independent office holders," reads the parliamentary budget office report.
This comes at a time that below-target revenue collection has been piling pressure on the taxman on account of ordinary revenue which did not perform as targeted.
It adds that the increase in salaries and allowances and miscellanies will increase from Sh4.62 billion to Sh4.73 billion.
However, if the overall revenues for the eight months leading up to February are any indication, the Kenya Revenue Authority would likely fall short of its collection goal for the year ending June 30.
This has further been exacerbated by the increased opposition towards governments' new revenue collection streams.
The report maintained that their salaries and allowances are set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission as provided for under Article 230(4)(a) which gives the commission the powers to set and regularly review salaries and benefits of all state officers.
"The variation in this component is informed by reviews of the SRC in its various circulars," the report noted.
In an effort to keep the public salary bill under control, the SRC reported in March that it had granted pay raise proposals totaling Sh2.18 billion in the six months leading up to December.
In a move that will exacerbate Kenya's wage bill crisis, the Treasury PS Chris Kiptoo announced an allocation of Sh17.7 billion in the budget for a salary increase for civil officials in the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1.
He claimed that although Sh1.7 trillion had been set as the Treasury's target for this fiscal year, only Sh1.68 trillion had been raised, leaving a shortfall of Sh87.4 billion.
