NAIROBI, Kenya– The government is introducing a series of sweeping reforms aimed at reducing the ballooning public wage bill by revising allowances and deploying a centralized human resource management system across state agencies.
While tabling the 2025/26 national budget in Parliament, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi emphasized that the planned system overhaul is expected to streamline public sector staffing and promote better use of taxpayer resources.
“The government will fully implement the unified human resource management system across all public sector entities by July 2025. This initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance public sector efficiency, improve management of the wage bill, and ensure effective public utilization of resources,” said Mbadi.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is leading the charge on restructuring public service pay by reducing and standardizing allowances over time.
The move seeks to curb excessive compensation and instill greater fairness and transparency across government institutions.
“The SRC continues to sustainably reduce the allowances in public service through a phased approach aimed at streamlining allowances to improve transparency, accountability, equity, and fairness,” the CS noted.
Mbadi added that future collective bargaining agreements will reflect these reforms, with SRC aligning compensation packages with established policy guidelines.
The reforms come as Kenya grapples with a mounting wage bill that continues to outpace revenue collection.
Mbadi warned that unchecked personnel costs threaten to crowd out development spending, making these adjustments critical to long-term economic resilience and fiscal discipline.
