Economy
President Ruto, Regathi Gachagua, MPs set to have 14% salary increase in SRC review
Friday, June 30, 2023
Vice President Regathi Gachagwa addresses the media at the official residence of the Vice President on June 21, 2023 after holding a meeting with the constitutional committees and independent offices. With him is the Chairman of the Salary and Remuneration Commission (SRC), Lynn Cherub Mingish. photo | Frances Nderito | NMG
State officers, including the president, vice president, cabinet secretaries and deputies, are set to receive a salary increase of 14 percent on average over the next two years from next month in a revision proposed by the Salary and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to ease their pay. against the high cost of living.
If approved, officials will enjoy great relief from the impact of persistently high inflation that has eroded personal income amid the rising cost of essential consumer products.
In contrast, wage workers, part-time workers, and informal sector workers will continue to find themselves worse off in a harsh inflationary environment.
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Chief William Ruto’s monthly gross pay package will rise by 7.1 per cent from July 2023 to Sh546,875 from Sh1,443,750 currently before jumping another 6.7 per cent to Sh1,650,000 from July 2024.
For his part, Vice President Regati Gashagua’s monthly compensation will rise to Sh1,367,438 from the current Sh1,227,188 as of July 1 before reaching Sh1,402,500, which is a cumulative jump of 14.3 percent. cent in his wage package over the two years.
Remuneration for cabinet secretaries rose by a similar margin, rising to Sh1,056,000 per month as of 1 July 2024 from Sh924,000 at present.
Meanwhile, members of parliament including senators will earn Sh741,003 and Sh769,201 in the next two fiscal years respectively from Sh710,000 at present, which is a cumulative wage increase of 8.3 per cent in the period.
However, the amended bonus package for MPs and Senators excludes committee sitting bonuses not exceeding Sh120,000 per month.
In the provinces, governors will receive a similar increase in compensation to the chief, meaning they will receive Sh10,056,000 by July 2024 out of the current total monthly salary of Sh924,000.
Meanwhile, members of the county council will earn Sh164,588 in just over a year from Sh144,375 at present, as the SRCC recommends a 14 percent increase in their monthly salary.
Other state employees who are set to enjoy a salary increase are the Principal Secretaries, Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice, Auditor General, Judges, Director of Public Prosecutions, Inspector General of Police and Chairs of key commissions such as the Independent Commission on Election and Boundaries.
The draft changes to government officials’ compensation, announced on Thursday by the Sudanese Red Crescent Authority, covers allowances and benefits for state employees such as car loans, mortgage benefits, pensions, medical and hospital insurance.
The Sudanese Red Crescent Authority has called for public comments on the proposed bonus packages before issuing a notice in the Gazette that would activate the new salaries for state employees.
The proposed review covers the third cycle of the review since the 2013/14 financial year and is in line with the SRC’s mandate to advise national and provincial governments on public servant salary benefits.
If approved, it would increase the country’s wage bill, which amounted to Sh506.29 billion and NIS 190.11 billion respectively for the national government and the provinces for the fiscal year ending in June 2022.
In its report covering the period, the Sudanese Red Crescent indicated that the continuous increase in the wage bill was eating up other government expenditure resources even as revenue growth increased to improve the sustainability of the wage bill.
“The wage bill of national and provincial governments has continued to increase, crowding out resources for development and service delivery. The SRC noted that growth in revenue collection will positively impact the wage bill to total revenue ratio if it continues.
The ratio of the wage bill to total revenue ranged between 40% and 44% between the 2016/17 and 2020/21 fiscal years, and was expected to rise to 46.26% in the year ending June 2022.
“This means that the percentage is expected to remain above 40 percent, much higher than 35 percent, which is the recommended percentage according to the Public Finance Management Law of 2012 and the Public Financial Affairs Management Regulations of 2015,” he added.
During the review period through June 2022, the wage bill was affected by the Teachers Service Commission’s hiring of 5,000 teachers, and a 12 percent minimum wage increase on May 1, 2022.
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The Sudanese Red Crescent is struggling to contain a ballooning wage bill, including canceling plenary allowances for members of parliament and ignoring requests for wage increases from public institutions.
For example, between January and March this year, the body said it saved taxpayers around Sh2.8 billion by rejecting applications for salary, allowance and benefits reviews.
State officers will be the envy of private sector workers whose 5.6 per cent wage increase in 2022 has been wiped out by inflation.
Wages accounting for inflation fell 2.7 percent last year (real wage growth) as the cost of living rose largely due to the fallout from the Russo-Ukraine war and drought.
Inflation has remained stubbornly high this year largely due to rising food and fuel costs, forcing the Central Bank of Kenya to set its benchmark lending rate to the highest level in nearly seven years as a countermeasure earlier this week.
Inflation eased in May to 8.0 percent in May from 7.9 percent in April, remaining above the set upper limit of 7.5 percent.
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