NAIROBI, Kennya – Three government agencies overspent on salaries despite operating with far fewer staff than authorised, exposing inefficiencies in public payroll management.
According to Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu’s latest reports, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA) and National Biosafety Authority (NBA) all breached the legal ceiling on employee compensation in the year to June 2024.
The Public Finance Management Regulations cap national government entities’ wage bills at 35 per cent of revenue to promote financial discipline.
However, KFS spent 61 per cent of its Sh9.3 billion revenue—Sh5.7 billion—on salaries, overshooting the limit by roughly 75 per cent while operating with 20 per cent fewer staff than allocated.
TRA, with 38 per cent fewer employees than planned, paid Sh208 million in wages—44 per cent of its revenue—exceeding its payroll limit by Sh42 million.
NBA, working with 28 per cent fewer staff, spent Sh98 million, breaching the cap by Sh20 million.
The three agencies collectively overspent by more than Sh2.4 billion, even as a government-wide hiring freeze tightened staffing gaps across departments.
Staffing levels in state bodies are set by the National Treasury, while pay rates fall under the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
The findings suggest the breaches may stem from irregular allowances, inflated pay packages, or overcompensation of senior staff.
While other agencies were also cited for wage bill breaches, the Auditor-General noted that the combination of understaffing and overspending in these three institutions underscores deeper issues in payroll oversight and accountability.
