Kenya has recorded a decline in the share of revenue spent on public sector salaries over the past four years, but the figure is still above the legal threshold, according to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
The commission’s chief executive, Ali Abdullahi Surraw, says the wage bill-to-revenue ratio has eased from 50.4 percent in 2021 to 40.8 percent in 2025, even as pressure on public finances remains high.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Tuesday, Surraw said the public wage bill now stands at slightly above Sh1 trillion annually against revenues of between Sh3 trillion and Sh4 trillion, pointing to continued strain on the budget.
He defended the role of Salaries and Remuneration Commission, saying its mandate goes beyond setting pay for public officers and includes reviewing remuneration and benefits for state officers as well as advising on pay and benefits across public institutions, which are required to comply with its guidance.
He explained that the commission’s work covers job evaluation, labour market surveys, institutional analysis, collective bargaining agreement advice and benchmarking with other countries. According to him, these interventions have contributed to the drop in the wage bill-to-revenue ratio from 50.4 percent in 2021 to 40.8 percent in 2025.
“In 2021, we were at 50.4 per cent. That means that more than half of the money we as a country collect goes to salaries. Because of the interventions by SRC, we have been able to move that to 40.8 per cent,” he highlighted.
Even with the improvement, Surraw noted that the figure is still above the 35 percent ceiling set under the Public Finance Management Act. “The PFM Act requires that we not do more than 35 per cent, so a lot of effort is being made for us to be able to achieve that. We are making progress every year.”
He cautioned that strict spending cuts alone could harm service delivery and morale in the public sector. “If you continue to say no more increments, nothing, it will cut costs to a certain level, but beyond that it cannot be sustainable because you will create a lack of morale and people will not be able to give their best,” he explained.
Instead, he said, focus should shift toward improving productivity and boosting revenue collection. Surraw said Kenya ranks 21st out of 58 African countries and 141st globally in labour productivity.
“A Kenyan worker produces about 7,500 US dollars(Sh 967, 500) in terms of productivity annually,” he stated.
He contrasted this with Singapore, where productivity per worker is much higher. “By comparison, Surraw elaborated that a worker in Singapore produces 117,000 US dollars (Sh15.09 million) a year.”
“That means one worker in Singapore produces the equivalent of 15 workers here in Kenya,” he said.
Surraw added that county governments face even sharper pressure on wage spending, with some using up to 65 percent of their revenue on personnel costs. “When you have 65 percent of your revenue going to wage bill, what remains is not all available for development because there are other operational expenses. Maybe you are left with only five to 10 percent for development,” he highlighted.
He linked the challenge to overstaffing, duplication of roles and staffing imbalances across devolved units. He noted that while best practice recommends a ratio of 70 percent technical staff to 30 percent support staff, many counties operate in reverse.
Surraw said the commission will continue working with both national and county governments to improve productivity, strengthen fiscal sustainability and enhance service delivery.