The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has revealed that the public wage bill was reduced by 4.9 percent to 46.6 percent of the total ordinary revenue in the 2022/2023 financial year over the past six years.

According to SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich, the figure is expected to decrease to 39.2 percent in the 2023/2024 fiscal year.

She expressed optimism about the positive trend while acknowledging the need for continued efforts to maintain the progress.

“SRC is proud of the remarkable achievements made over the six-year period, leading to a progressive drop in the total public wage bill to total ordinary revenue ratio from 51.54 percent in FY 2017/2018 to 47.06 percent in FY 2021/2022, and projected to decline further to 39.22 percent in FY 2023/2024. As SRC focuses on the future, more effort is required to address the challenges related to the size and trajectory of the wage bill.”

Further, SRC revealed that despite the reduction in the wage bill as a percentage of revenue, the public service wage bill has seen an upward trend in absolute terms, increasing from Sh785 billion in FY 2017/2018 to Sh1.035 trillion in FY 2021/2022.

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This figure is projected to rise further to Kes 1.17 trillion in FY 2023/2024.

The Commission attributed the growth to expanding the workforce in critical sectors such as education, health, and security and adjustments in remuneration and benefits to address the rising cost of living and attract necessary skills.