Civil servants' allowances reviewed

Kenya: The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has moved to save the public billions of shillings by scrapping 33 allowances public servants have been taking home.

By scrapping the allowances that have been in existence for many years, the salaries agency will save the tax payer about Sh125 billion annually.

Currently, remuneration and benefits for public servants is approximately 11 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or 52 per cent of the domestic revenue, which is a threat to sustainable Government expenditure as it consumes resources meant for development projects.

And to reduce the backlash from the civil servants, the commission has harmonised house, hardship, leave, domestic and foreign subsistence.

The commission established that there are 150 types of allowances within the public service. It abolished 33 of them and consolidated 48 others.

The allowances to be scrapped are non-designated drivers' allowance, token allowance, subsistence allowance, day trip allowance and safari allowance, among others.

The SRC, in its latest report, notes that house allowances for public servants were last reviewed in 2001, whereas the cost of housing has continued to rise, thereby eroding the real value of the allowance.

However, due to the prevailing budgetary constraints, the implementation of the reviewed house allowance will be effected in phases to be agreed upon with the National Treasury.

Among the civil servants, teachers will be the biggest earners with the introduction of leave allowance and improved house and hardship allowance.

SRC Chairperson Sarah Serem warned accountants, both at the national and county levels, to strictly adhere to the allowances as set by the commission, failure to which the provisions of the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act 2012 regarding the use of funds will be applied.

"The new rates that the commission is giving today shall be the only allowances to be applied to both public and State officers. Any allowances that were existing before shall cease to apply," said Mrs Serem.

The commission harmonised house allowance for civil servants in job groups A to T, with those living in Nairobi taking the lion's share, followed by those living in major municipalities and those living in rural areas.

Civil servants residing in Nairobi are currently getting Sh3,000 for those in job groups A, B and C, but with the new rates, they will now earn Sh3,750 while the highest paid public servant in job group T will now earn Sh80,000 as house allowance.

Those living in major towns like Mombasa, Kisumu, Malindi, Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu and Naivasha will now take home Sh3,125 up from Sh2,500 for those in job groups A, B and C while the highest paid worker living in the same locality will pocket Sh56,000 per month as house allowance.

The salaries agency has also harmonised hardship allowance for civil servants and teachers with those in job groups A to T earning between Sh2,800 for the lowest paid while the highest paid civil servant will now pocket Sh60,000.

Teachers earning hardship allowance will receive Sh5,700 for P1, Approved Teacher Service ATS IV Sh6,600, Graduate Approved Teacher (GAT) III Sh8,200, GAT II Sh10,900, GAT I Sh12,300 while Senior GAT will have Sh14,650.

Others like Principal GAT II will earn Sh17,100, Principal GAT I Sh27,300, Senior principal Sh 31,500 while Chief Principal will earn Sh38,100 per month as hardship allowance.

The harmonised leave allowance for teachers in job groups G to R will earn Sh4,000 for the lowest paid teacher (P1) while the highest paid teacher (Chief Principal) will get Sh10,000 per month.

The teachers falling in the category of P1 to GAT III will earn Sh4,000, those within GAT II and Principal GATII will earn Sh6,000 while those in the job category of Principal GATI and Chief Principal will take Sh10,000.

SRC has also harmonised new rates of daily subsistence allowance (per diem) for local travel for all the civil servants.

The agency has capped the daily subsistence allowance for those in job groups A to E to be at Sh4,200 for those living in major towns, Sh3,500 for those in other towns while those in rural and semi-urban areas will take home Sh2,100 per day.

State officers in the job group F4 will take Sh22,000, Sh18,000 and Sh12,000 for those who will be in major towns, other towns and rural areas respectively.

According to the commission, the current daily subsistence allowance was last reviewed in 2009 and that the new rates will apply to all public officers and State officers in all the sectors both at the national and county governments.

Serem argued that the review has been informed by recent research that demonstrated that the real value of money has been eroded and rates determined in 2009 can no longer facilitate officers outside their duty stations.