SRC raises President Ruto’s CASs pay to Sh780,000 in new review

The new Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs) will get more than the principal secretaries after the Salary and Remuneration Commission (SRC) raised their monthly salary to Sh780,000, putting them in the top six highest paid officials in Kenya in the public service. .

A new Saudi Red Crescent advisory report to the Public Service Commission (PSC) shows that the monthly salary for CAS will rise from Sh765,188 after a job evaluation which placed the position at a higher job rank.

“The SRC has determined the monetary value of the CAS position at Grade F1 and would like to advise on the compensation structure and attendant benefits,” said SRC Chair Lyn Mengich in a March 14, 2023 letter to her PSC counterpart, Anthony Mochere.

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The current and previous administrations are seen as using the position to reward loyalists and losers in elections.

CAS will increase under the new wage structure when it takes into account the passenger allowance, which will be paid at “official” government rates.

The SRC Counsel will now certify that the CAS, who were paid the same salaries as the Principal Secretaries under the administration of Uhuru Kenyatta, have exceeded the salaries of the accounting staff of the ministries by Sh14,812.

Only the President and Vice-President who earn Sh1.44m and Sh1.23m respectively, and the Attorney General, Cabinet Secretaries, Cabinet Secretary and Chief Public Service (Sh924,000 each) will earn more than a CAS, whose job description is to delegate CS.

The SRC said the CAS position would now be downgraded to F1 grade, marking a departure from the PSC classification which classified them under CSG 3 or equivalent Job Group V.

The new pay structure means the 50 legal aid attorneys sworn into the State House on Friday, in a job honored by President William Ruto, will cost taxpayers 468 million shillings a year in salaries alone.

The CAS salary consists of Sh459,113 basic salary, Sh165,000 housing allowance and Sh155,887.

The SRC defines salary market adjustment as a salary adjustment that affects the market situation and constitutional and legal principles.

Principal secretaries were paid NIS 874,500 a month five years ago when the Social Rehabilitation Authority cut their salaries to Sh765,188 in a revision that also affected all officers in national and district governments.

CAS will be provided with an official vehicle with an engine capacity not exceeding 3,000 cc and a medical cover that includes Sh10 million for inpatients and NIS 300,000 for outpatients.

This is in addition to a car loan of up to Sh8m, a mortgage of up to Sh35m, Sh20,000 per month and annual leave allowance of Sh50,000, all the same as that of a Head Secretarial.

The CAS Service Benefit will be paid upon retirement at the rate of 31 percent of the annual pensionable wage for the length of service.

Unlike the administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta when individuals who filled CAS positions did not go through the recruitment process by the PSC, those appointed by Dr. Ruto went through a competitive process.

However, Parliament on Wednesday refused to scrutinize CAS on the grounds that no law requires it to be scrutinized by the House of Representatives, paving the way for Dr. Ruto to appoint all candidates.

Last September the PSC listed the roles of the CAS as responding to issues affecting the portfolio assigned to the office and providing liaison with the National Assembly and the Senate.

The CAS will also provide liaison with provincial governments on “matters with concurrent mandates and common interests” and provide “inter-ministerial and sectoral coordination,” according to a PSC brief in September.

Other roles of CASs are to represent the CS at any meeting as instructed by the latter and to carry out any other duties and responsibilities specifically assigned to the office by the CS.

The Kenya Law Society challenged the establishment of the CAS office but lost the case in the High Court. In the legal battle, the Law Society has argued that the CAS position is illegal and will inflate the public wage bill.

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LSK also said there is likely to be a duplication of functions for the CAS and Principal Secretaries, “which will increase the size of the public wage bill without a corresponding improvement in services”.

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