Kenya has gone through significant economic changes in the past 50 years. As of today, Kenya has one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. However, even with this growth, there are still many challenges to overcome. One challenge is how to keep salaries for government employees competitive when compared to private-sector workers. The Kenyan government set out on an ambitious plan to re-evaluate and scale public sector pay scales upwards through the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC). The government was doing so to make its employees’ pay more comparable with their counterparts in the private sector. However, the move was met by opposition from various interest groups who felt that these new wage rates would be unsustainable for both public servants and taxpayers alike. In this article, we present the updated parastatal salary scales in Kenya.
Parastatal salary scales in Kenya 2021
Parastatals play an important role in Kenya as they help the government manage commercial activities and other pertinent activities crucial for the efficient operation of the government.
SRC in mid-2017 unveiled parastatal salaries in Kenya capturing the salary of state corporations chiefs and other employees. The 2017 SRC salary scales for parastatals were based on the Paterson grading system. Through this system, SRC was able to decide the salary of each parastatal employee based on a grading system. Moreover, these scales provide a benchmark for the determination of the best-paying government parastatals in Kenya.
In a bid to ensure standardized pay for parastatal employees, SRC set the highest pay for parastatal chiefs at a maximum of Ksh. 1 million. The SRC salary scale sets Ksh. 253,333 as the minimum amount earned by any CEO in service and regulatory State corporations. On the other hand, the highest-paid CEOs in the service will receive Ksh. 812,970 per month.
While determining this salary scale, SRC evaluated 9, 843 jobs in the service and regulatory corporations and 6,270 jobs in the commercial sector.
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Principles of Pay Determination by SRC
Serem said that SRC used the following principles to determine the pay structure:
- Fiscal sustainability of the total public compensation wage bill
- Attraction and retention of requisite skills
- Recognizing productivity and performance
- Transparency and fairness
- Equal remunaration to persons for work of equal value {section 12 (1) of SRC Act, 2011}.
Salary Scales of the highest paying parastatals in Kenya
Kenya has 49 commercial state corporations among them KenGen and Kenya Power. The SRC parastatal salary scale sets the highest-paid CEO in these corporations to earn Ksh. 903,300 while the lowest to get Ksh. 281,481 monthly.
The best paying parastatals based on the SRC salary scale
The table below shows the highest paying parastatals based on the parastatal salary scale in Kenya:
| Rank | Name | Role | New Trainee Pay |
| 1 | National Security & Intelligence Service (NIS) | Security and intelligence | Ksh. 119,000-165,000 |
| 2 | Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) | Administer, control, manage aerodromes | Ksh. 130,000-150,000 |
| 3 | Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) | Fight corruption and promote ethical standards | Ksh. 120,000-144,000 |
| 4 | Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) | Plan for sufficient electricity generation & transmission | Ksh. 130,000-160,000 |
| 5 | Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) | Banker for, adviser to, and financial advisor of the government | Ksh. 160,000 |
| 6 | Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) | Savings and investments | Ksh. 150,000 |
| 7 | KenGen | Electric power generation | Ksh. 145,000-180,00 |
| 8 | Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) | Information and communication management | Ksh. 130.000-145,000 |
| 9 | Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) | Revenue collection | Ksh. 120,000-Ksh. 165,000 |
| 10 | Kenya Pipeline | Secure the supply of petroleum products | Ksh. 140,000 |
| 11 | National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) | Maintain natural resources and their utilization | Ksh. 80,000 |
Advantages of Salary Scales in Kenya
The following are the key benefits of salary scales in Kenya:
- They provide a guide on what employees should be earning at each level of their career.
- Salary scales are transparent and standardized. This helps to attract the right talent into any organization, thus giving them an edge over their competitors.
- Parastatal salary scale is aimed at ensuring that parastatals have pay structure in line with the private sector.
- They help the State to plan and budget for salaries as parastatal employees move up through different grades, hence more money into government coffers.
Benefits of Working in Parastatals in Kenya
Working for parastatals in Kenya will provide you the following benefits:
Job security
Unlike in the private sector, parastatals offer employees job security. They are not laid off easily and workers can be assured of work until retirement.
Uniform benefits package
Parastatal employment comes with a uniform benefits package such as health insurance cover for you and your family. You are also entitled to a mandatory provident fund contribution among other bonuses.
Parastatal employees enjoy a stable job environment where promotions are based on merit and performance. This is unlike in private organizations which base their hiring decisions on the academic background of the candidate.
High Salaries
Kenyan parastatals are among the best paying institutions in Kenya. They pay competitive salaries that are good enough to attract the best brains into their organizations.
Great career prospects
In a parastatal, you can easily move from one department to another as your skills and performance increase. This means there is no ceiling on how far you can go with a single organization.
Good work-life balance
Unlike in the private sector where employees are expected to be on call 24 hours a day, parastatals have flexible working hours that allow you enough time with family and friends. You can also leave early or come in late depending on your personal needs without worrying about being penalized.
Wrapping Up
The updated parastatal salary scales in Kenya denotes the salaries earned by different employees in Kenyan parastatals. Parastatals are government institutions that provide services for the public. They include commercial, service, and regulatory corporations among others. The SRC came up with salary scales as grading systems to determine the salaries of employees in parastatals and civil service based on their positions and performance levels.
