Concern about Kenya’s huge public wage bill is not new, but the cry has reached new levels in the midst of a gloomy outlook for the economy. It is not lost on anyone that all is not well in the country. Businesses are suffering and people are losing jobs even as the government struggles to pay debts to China and other foreign lenders.
Far from creating the jobs that President Uhuru Kenyatta has repeatedly pledged, the government’s efforts have failed to jump start the economy to life. Instead, it has resorted to austerity measures that have stifled the little growth.
It is time to tighten our belts, as acting National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani put it. The government, though, seems unable to control its expenses, more so on salaries and wages. As at 2018, the State spent 48.1 percent of its revenue on paying employees in national and county governments as well as parastatals.
This is way above the government’s target of 35 per cent, and numerous programmes to reduce this burden have not borne fruit. In the past, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has tried to rationalise public pay and even cut some allowances - which form a large part of this pay – but the impact has been minimal.
It is time that the SRC put its foot down and followed through on some of its own recommendations to the government because, ultimately, the responsibility to control public pay rests with it. We note that the commission has called a conference next week to deliberate on the wage bill and find ways to bring it down. State officers as well as representatives from the private sector and civil society are expected to give their input at the forum.
It is unlikely that the solution to such a deep problem will be found in a day, but the SRC conference is a move in the right direction.
Putting our heads together might bring us the answer that has eluded us for years now. However, it is critical that any recommendations made at the meeting be implemented forthwith.
