The Attorney-General’s pay has been slashed by a third, the second cut in two years that followed the exit of Githu Muigai who was the best paid public servant.
The Treasury documents indicate that the allocation for AG’s basic salary and allowances will fall from the current Sh27.24 million a year to Sh17.9 million in the year starting July, reflecting a 34 percent drop.
The pay was cut from Sh32.9 million in the year starting July 2018, just months after Prof Muigai’s six-year term at the State Law Office ended.
The Attorney-General’s pay has been slashed by a third, the second cut in two years that followed the exit of Githu Muigai who was the best paid public servant.
The Treasury documents indicate that the allocation for AG’s basic salary and allowances will fall from the current Sh27.24 million a year to Sh17.9 million in the year starting July, reflecting a 34 percent drop.
The pay was cut from Sh32.9 million in the year starting July 2018, just months after Prof Muigai’s six-year term at the State Law Office ended.
Paul Kihara Kariuki was sworn in as the new AG in March 2018, ending Prof Muigai’s term.
Prof Muigai earned Sh2.7 million monthly, a fat pay cheque equal to that of some chief executives of Nairobi bourse listed companies.
The Treasury documents indicate that Mr Kihara’s pay and perks allocation will average Sh1.49 million, down from Sh2.27 million in the current year ending next month.
Prof Muigai appears to have benefited from the fact that he came from private legal practice and the university lecture hall and would ordinarily qualify for non-practising allowance as is the case for lawyers who enter the judicial service.
The Sh2.7 million monthly pay made the former AG the highest paid public official besides the President whose monthly pay is about Sh1.44 million in line with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) guidelines.
The SRC guidelines during Prof Muigai’s tenure put the monthly salary of the AG at between Sh792,000 and Sh1,056,000.
However, Prof Muigai benefited from the SRC’s stand that State officers whose pay had been set before the commission was established would continue enjoying the higher pay and perks.
At Sh1.49 million, Mr Kihara’s average monthly pay based on the Treasury allocation matches President Kenyatta’s official salary.
In October 2003, Mr Kariuki was one of the judges appointed to the High Court by former President Mwai Kibaki.
The government has been firing on all cylinders to tame the ballooning wage bill at a time revenue collections were consistently below targets but public debt going up.
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