Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) party wants the Public Service Commission to review the entire human resource with the view of scrapping “unnecessary positions.”
MDG party leader David Ochieng’, who is also the MP for Ugenya constituency, said the review will go a long way in taming extravagance in government.
“In the wake of the outcry over runaway corruption and extravagance in government, the Public Service Commission should immediately review the entire public service complement and scrap unnecessary positions that are draining our resources, increasing the wage bill and overall recurrent expenditure,” he said.
In a statement, Ochieng’ said the money saved in the cost-cutting measure would then be used to fund priority development projects that generate jobs for young people.
“We must stop rewarding the homeboys from the public purse and adhere to meritocracy in appointments to the public service,” he maintained.
Ochieng’s suggestion comes hot on the heels of an order by President William Ruto to stop a proposed pay rise for Cabinet members and MPs following public outcry.
Ruto’s order followed mass protests that forced him to drop a controversial Finance Bill, 2024 that had included tax hikes.
Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) Chairperson Lyn Mengich on Wednesday said the commission would "freeze" the salary increases for state officers due to "the current realities of the economy".
Initially, the SRC had recommended a pay increase of 2 per cent and 5 per cent for all state officials, including judges.
The public service wage bill stood at Sh1.1 trillion in the financial year that ended June 2023. The SRC projects that it was to hit Sh1.71 trillion in the financial year that ended last month.
Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot has urged the SRC to propose strategies for slashing the public wage bill to curb government spending.
“SRC has to speak to the country and tell us how we can reduce our public expenditure on wages and salaries from 46 per cent to 35 per cent even if it means taking a pay cut,” Cheruiyot said.
Cheruiyot made remarks during Senate Plenary on Wednesday following SRC’s salary hike proposal.
