‪SRC Proposes Sh780K Salary And Hefty Perks For CASs‬

In a sharp contrast to the popular government’s position of reducing the wage bill, Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has proposed hefty perks that are bound to further burden the overburdened taxpayer.

In a letter sent to the to the Public Service Commission (PSC), the commission has set Sh780, 000 gross salary for the Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs) should president William Ruto appoint them.

Should SRC’s proposal be adopted, the CASs will be receiving larger salaries than the MPS who pocket Sh710,000 monthly.

CAS salary breakdown

The basic salary shall be capped at Sh. 459,113 with Sh165,000 house allowance and Sh155, 887 in salary market adjustment.

On top of this, they’ll be allocated official cars with engine capacities up to 3000cc.

“SRC has determined the monetary worth of a CAS job at Grade F1 and would like to advise on the attendant remuneration and benefits structure,” said SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich in a letter dated March 14.

The remuneration package also includes annual medical coverage of up to Sh10 million for inpatients, Sh300,000 for outpatients, and additional benefits for maternity, dental, and optical care.

The medical benefit will be extended to one spouse and up to four children below 25 years old, fully dependent on the CAS.

This new development coincides with the parliament’s recent decision approving approve the National Government Administration Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeking to anchor the position in law.

In the changes, they provided that the office of the CAS will be an office in the public service.

The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee’s amendments also provided that CAS number will be determined by the Public Service Commission.

At the same time, even if the Bill is enacted, the courts made a declaration that the establishment of 50 CAS positions was unconstitutional.

A three-judge bench said it was illogical to have 50 CASs deputise 22 Cabinet Secretaries, posing a headache to the appointing authority in striking a balance.

The court said the office is similar to that of the assistant minister in the old order cannot be created haphazardly.

Doctor’s strike

It is also coming at a time when the government and doctors are at loggerheads over prolonged strike.

The SRC chair was recently questioned during a TV interview why the CASs were poised to take a fat paycheck compared to the striking doctors in the country despite the latter’s job requiring much higher qualifications and technicalities.

The SRC Chair underscored that despite education and experience which fall in the first cluster of input factors, being vital in job enrolment, their weight in terms of remuneration is less than the processes and impact.

She says the process factors which are the task done and the impact factors which show the significance of the role either internationally or nationally, majorly determine how much an employee takes home.

“Input factors are where education and experience come in because that is what you bring into the job. The process is the actual work that you do; what we call the process factors including complexity of the job, decision making, problem-solving,” Mengich stated.

“Impact is what you do; it could be at certain levels such as international, national, it speaks to the impact then how significant is that impact.”

The commissioner further avers that as a person continues to study and their education, it’s not a direct ticket for more wages since the focus will still be on the process and the impact of the job at hand.

“The higher you go the less the input factors in terms of its weight because at that point, what is required is more of the impact of the role and the process. So at that point, the input factor is still important but it does not carry as much weight,” noted Mengich.