By ROBERT KIPLAGAT
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has said the country’s wage bill is unsustainable with over 50 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) being spent on salaries.
Commission Chairperson Sarah Serem, who was speaking in Kabarnet, Baringo County, said Sh458 billion (12.1 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) is spent on paying 700,000 public officers.
Meet-the-people
“If we will be a consuming people, there will be little development and the electorate will not benefit from the GDP,” added Serem.
The SRC chair also said the commission is set to carry out job evaluation in all the 47 counties to ensure that the salaries Members of the County Assembly, governors and other State officers earn are deserved.
“It will be robbery if one just sits and earn salaries. I urge all County Public Service Boards to come up with job evaluation to ensure that everybody is accountable to what he earns,” said Serem.
She was accompanied by SRC Deputy Secretary Anne Gitau and Commissioner Isaiah Kubai. The commission is on a meet-the-people tour of all the 47 counties to sensitise governors and members of county assemblies on resource utilisation.
“For the counties to prosper, they should operate as business entities and focus on how best to utilise their natural resources and generate their own revenue instead of relying on national governement,”said Ms Serem.
Car grants
Area Governor Benjamin Cheboi asked that they be allowed to retain the car grants vote in their budget, saying that Baringo, unlike other counties, was arid, vast and rugged thus requires ‘heavy’ vehicles.
“The SRC should exempt some counties from the 1800cc engine capacity motor vehicles since most MCAs come from far and rugged areas and cars below 1800cc might break along the way. If possible, we should even have chopper grants,” said Cheboi. Baringo County budget was among those rejected by the controller of budget after they presented a staggering Sh96 million car grants.
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