The Salaries and Remuneration Commission(SRC) is in the process of completing a review of allowances paid to public officers and has sent out an advisory that certain payments should not be made. SRC has thus said retreat, sitting allowances for institutional committees, taskforce allowance, and daily subsistence allowance (local and foreign travel) for public officers should not be paid forthwith.
SRC Advisory Letter to All Heads of State Agencies
In a letter, dated 7th August 2023, and copied to the Attorney General, Controller of Budget, Auditor General, all Principal Secretaries, CEOs of all State Corporations and Statutory bodies as well as County Secretaries, SRC said payment of retreat allowance, in addition to the basic salary, amounts to double compensation. SRC also said sitting allowances to members of internal committees, in addition to basic pay, is also double compensation and should cease to be payable to public officers.
The Commission advises that payment of taskforce allowance to members of an internal institution taskforce should also cease as these taskforces are constituted to execute the mandate of the institution. It adds that accounting officers must seek the review and advice of SRC before paying allowances to members of other taskforces. Public Officers will also not receive payment for more than one taskforce at the same time. A taskforce allowance will only be payable for a maximum of 15 days in a month. Where public officers are involved in a taskforce on a full-time basis for more than a month, those affected will be required to opt for either the taskforce allowance or the monthly salary.
The Commission said payment of daily subsistence allowance to facilitate public officers to attend to official assignments away from their duty stations in Kenya or abroad must be paid according to set guidelines depending on one’s ranking and country.
For instance, the daily subsistence allowance for a civil servant in the highest ranks, Grades E4-E5 will be KSh 18,200 for all Cities, County Headquarters, and All Other Towns. These allowances, says the Commission, shall not be payable for locations that are within a 50kilomentres radius of respective duty stations of the officers affected.
The SRC is established under Article 230 of the Constitution of Kenya, to set and regularly review the remuneration and benefits of all State officers, and advise the national and county governments on the compensation of all public officers.
The Commission has been undertaking a review of allowances in phases, with the first phase completed in 2022.
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