Teachers and national government workers reaped 60 per cent of extra salaries that went into the public service in the year ended June, getting a collective Sh40 billion out of the Sh65.8 billion recent pay raise.
This is according to the latest Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) report, which shows that as Kenya’s public service wage bill rises, the two categories receive most of the funds.
“Wage payments in the public service grew by 4.8 per cent in FY 2021/22 and are projected to grow further by 6.5 per cent to Sh1.1 trillion in FY 2022/23. The wage bill to nominal GDP (gross domestic product) ratio is projected to reduce marginally to 7.58 per cent in FY 2022/23, and 7.19 per cent in FY 2023/24,” said the SRC.
The Teachers Service Commission’s wage bill in 2022/23 was Sh372.14 billion, up Sh22.24 billion, meaning that a third of the additional salaries to the public service during the year went to the teaching service.
National government workers earned Sh298.55 billion in the year ended June, after getting an additional Sh17.85 billion while county employees received an extra Sh12.09 billion.
The salaries commission observes that the public service’s wage bill to ordinary revenue ratio remains a high of 43.54 per cent in 2022/23, implying that out of every Sh100 taxes the Kenya Revenue Authority collects, Sh43.5 goes to paying salaries to public service workers.
“The total wage bill is projected to continue growing, but at a rate of 6.36 per cent in FY 2022/23, and 6.37 per cent in FY 2023/24,” said the SRC.
Teachers and national and county governments are the largest employers in the public service.
In the two years from July 2022 to June 2024, teachers and national government workers will continue to be the biggest beneficiaries of the public service pay raises.
The public wage bill, the SRC projections show, will grow by Sh136 billion in the next two years, out of which Sh83 billion will go to teachers and civil servants.
County salaries, the report says, are expected to rise by an additional Sh25 billion in the two years, while workers in State corporations, universities, social service sectors, and commissions will get a collective 20.7 per cent of the additional Sh136 billion.
“In the fourth quarter of FY 2022/23, the expenditure on PE (personnel emoluments) in the national government is projected at Sh152.33 billion, representing a growth of 10.62 per cent, compared to Sh137.78 billion in a similar period in FY 2021/22.
“The total expenditure is projected to increase from Sh405.82 billion in the third quarter to Sh577,87 billion in the fourth quarter,” said the SRC.
