NAIROBI, Kenya – Members of Parliament have launched an inquiry into widespread salary deductions that have left thousands of civil servants taking home less than a third of their pay, in what watchdog lawmakers say may violate employment laws.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly is now demanding answers from the National Treasury over the growing number of public servants whose net pay falls below the legal threshold, despite a statutory cap that limits deductions to no more than two-thirds of basic salary.
Committee chairperson and Butere MP Tindi Mwale cited the breach of Section 19(3) of the Employment Act, 2007, which prohibits employers from making deductions that reduce an employee’s net income below one-third of their basic pay.
“The law is no longer practical due to multiple tax deductions that have eroded workers’ earnings,” Mwale said.
Civil servants have in recent months raised alarm over shrinking payslips, blaming new statutory deductions introduced under President William Ruto’s administration.
These include the 1.5 per cent Housing Levy, the 2.75 per cent Social Health Authority (SHA) contribution, and increased rates under the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
The committee has linked these new levies to the significant drop in public sector workers’ take-home pay and is now pushing the Treasury to engage Attorney General Dorcas Oduor for legal advice on whether the one-third salary rule should be scrapped or amended.
“This committee has asked the National Treasury—given the coming into effect of the NSSF Act, SHIF, and the housing levy—to engage the Attorney General for a way forward,” said Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera. “If not addressed, this matter will remain an audit concern.”
Nabwera’s comments followed a session with Correctional Services Principal Secretary Salome Beacco, who had appeared before the committee to respond to audit queries.
A review of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) for June 2023 showed that 4,082 civil servants received less than one-third of their basic salary, breaching Section C1(3) of the Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual for the Public Service (May 2016 edition).
Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo also weighed in, saying civil servants were being unfairly punished for policy decisions made by lawmakers.
“These employees are not the authors of their misfortune. It is Parliament that passed these punitive taxes. If blame is to be placed, it lies squarely with MPs who sang ‘hallelujah’ as the laws sailed through,” Oundo said.
