The government of President William Ruto has turned down public servants’ salary increment requests worth KSh 2.8 billion.
This comes even as Ruto is eyeing the workers’ payslips with more deductions and more taxes, according to Finance Bill 2023.
According to the wage bill bulletin, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) received 65 requests from public institutions.
However, it only approved KSh 411.4 million worth of the requests, declining KSh 2.8 billion worth of the request.
The total wage bill increase requests amounted to KSh 3.24 billion as civil servants sought to offset the rising cost of living.
“SRC approved requests worth KSh 411.4 million, against the 65 requests from public institutions amounting to KSh 3.24 billion,” read the SRC bulletin in part.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), Kenya’s inflation stood at 7.9% in April 2023.
The KNBS report showed in the period between April 2022 and April 2023, food prices have remained on an upward trajectory.