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SRC stops governors, top county bosses’ housing allowances
Embu Governor and COG Chairman Martin Wambora flanked by other governors address media at the Tamarind Hotel on January 27, 2022. PHOTO | SILA KIPLAGAT | NMG
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has withdrawn housing allowances of up to Sh200,000 a month from county governors, their deputies and speakers following the expiry of a grace period extended to devolved units that did not have official residences.
SRC barred counties from paying the allowances from last month, as it sought to protect taxpayers from double expenditure on housing the county bosses.
The SRC gave counties four years from 2015 to build residences for the governors, their deputies and assembly speakers after which the house allowances would be withdrawn. The deadline was pushed forward by two years following requests from the counties.
“The commission advises that the option for county governments paying rent/leasing official residential houses for governors, deputy governors and county assembly speakers shall cease on June 30, 2022,” SRC said in a letter to the counties last month.
Only Homa Bay and Kajiado had built residences for their governor and deputy governor by end of the financial year to June 2021.
Kilifi had delivered the governor’s house while Isiolo built a house for its deputy governor.
None of the 47 counties had delivered a house for county assembly speakers in the period under review.
SRC attributed the delays to a lack of commitment from the counties to comply with the directive forcing a year extension to the deadline that was initially set for June 30, 2021.
But some of the counties like Embu said land reserved for the residences was grabbed while a majority cited constrained budgets.
Under the SRC guidelines of 2017, the Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu governors got Sh200,000 every month as house allowances while their colleagues in the other counties got Sh100,000.
Deputy governors in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu got Sh185,000 while their colleagues in the other counties got Sh90,000.
County assembly speakers in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu were entitled to Sh150,000 in monthly rent allowances while their counterparts in the other counties got Sh75,000.
