You have failed the country, residents tell Serem team

By GILBERT KIMUTAI

Salaries and Remuneration Commissioners found themselves on the receiving end during a public forum on wage bill sustainability held yesterday in Bomet after members of the public blamed the commission for the wage bill problem.

Members of the public who contributed during the forum accused the Sarah Serem-led commission, saying it had failed to deliver on their constitutional mandate.

They said the commission had allowed itself to be dictated to by the political leadership despite its independence guaranteed by the Constitution.

“You allowed yourself to be dictated by politicians especially Members of Parliament who threatened to disband SRC when they were demanding for a salary increase after being sworn into office last year and we now question your ability to protect tax payers from the wage menace,” Mr Stephen Koskey told SRC commissioners led by Oloo Aringo at Brevan Hotel in Bomet.

Shafi Elmi, a human resource specialist said the huge wage bill in the country was due to the failures of the SRC, saying it had failed to conduct job evaluation as earlier promised.

“What happened to job evaluation and salary harmonisation promised by SRC before the last election? The commission must be sleeping on its job and something serious should be done to rescue the country from the wage menace,” Elmi said.

He said failure by SRC to conduct job evaluation and salary harmonisation had seen mass exodus from the national government to counties where experience and academic qualification is not considered.

“Look at how counties have gone berserk with employment, administrators are quitting their jobs for counties where they jump several groups ahead to earn big and SRC is just sitting and watching,” Elmi said.