Efforts to rein in Kenya’s public sector wage bill are being undermined by political pressure and institutions that ignore advice on salaries and benefits, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has said.
The commission says the lack of political support has made it difficult to enforce measures aimed at keeping the cost of public servants’ pay under control, even as the wage bill continues to take up a larger share of government resources.
SRC said the problem has persisted despite the government’s earlier commitment to bring down the wage bill and release more money for development programmes.
The public sector wage bill was expected to reach Sh1.29 trillion in the year ended June 2026, compared with Sh1.22 trillion in the previous financial year. In the year to June 2019, the bill stood at Sh870.1 billion.
The rise has been linked mainly to salary adjustments and increased recruitment, placing greater pressure on the Exchequer at a time when the government is also dealing with major financial demands.
"In carrying out these activities, the commission faced the following constraints and challenges - lack of political goodwill and interterence in remuneration matters, 14 per cent non-compliance with SRC advice on Remuneration and Benefits" the commission says in a report dated September 6, 2026.
SRC’s mandate includes determining and reviewing the salaries of State officers and public officials. It is also required to advise both the national and county governments on how their employees should be paid.
The commission has, however, repeatedly found itself at odds with politicians and public sector workers over its decisions on pay, allowances and other benefits.
Members of Parliament have previously responded to disagreements with SRC by cutting its budget, including allocations linked to remuneration reviews, allowances and vehicle engine capacity limits.
In 2020, MPs reduced SRC’s hiring and entertainment budgets by Sh104.6 million after the commission moved to court to block a plan to backdate a Sh250,000 house allowance for each legislator.
Lawmakers also challenged SRC over its decision to reduce the Sh5,000 plenary sitting allowance and limit the engine capacity of their official vehicles to 3,000cc.
The pressure exerted by MPs has at times resulted in SRC yielding to some of their demands, complicating efforts to apply its recommendations on public sector remuneration.
The commission has faced similar disagreements within devolved governments, with governors and county employees raising concerns over delayed salary reviews and restrictions on remuneration.
Another major dispute came in 2024 when SRC suspended salary reviews for public sector workers, pointing to the difficult economic environment at the time.
The wage bill has continued to grow as the government faces wider financial constraints. Treasury has in recent times struggled to pay salaries on time because of cash shortages, with large debt repayment commitments adding to the pressure.
The rising cost of public sector salaries has consequently reduced the room available to the government to finance development projects, as an increasing amount of public money goes towards meeting the wage bill.
SRC’s latest report places political interference, lack of goodwill and failure by institutions to comply with its recommendations among the key challenges facing its efforts to manage remuneration and contain the cost of government salaries.