Treasury raises Githu salary allocation to Sh2.7m a month

What you need to know:

Treasury documents indicate that the AG’s basic salary and allowances will increase from the current Sh30.8 million a year to Sh32.9 million.
Auditor-General Edward Ouko is also lined up for an annual pay rise of Sh1 million.
The SRC guidelines put the monthly salaries of the auditor-general and the attorney-general at between Sh792,000 and Sh1,056,000.

Attorney-General Githu Muigai will cement his position as the best paid public servant after the Treasury increased his salary and perks allocation for the year starting July to Sh2.7 million monthly.

Treasury documents indicate that the AG’s basic salary and allowances will increase from the current Sh30.8 million a year to Sh32.9 million in the 2017/18 year, an equivalent of Sh2.7 million per month.

Prof Muigai’s fat pay cheque is similar to the remuneration of top chief executives of financial and telecoms companies in Kenya.

The AG appears to have benefited from the fact that he came from private legal practice and the lecture room and would ordinarily qualify for a non-practicing allowance as is the case for lawyers who enter judicial service.

Auditor-General Edward Ouko is also lined up for an annual pay rise of Sh1 million. Treasury’s budget estimates indicate that Mr Ouko’s salary and perks will grow five per cent from the current Sh19.7 million to Sh20.7 million a year, or Sh1.7 million monthly.

Excluding perks, the attorney-general’s monthly pay will from July rise to Sh1.7 million from Sh1.6 million currently, while that of Mr Ouko will be Sh1.1 from one million.

This makes Prof Muigai the highest paid public official besides the president whose monthly pay is expected to range between Sh1.23 million and Sh1.65 million in line with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) guidelines.

Allowances in the Treasury documents are, however, estimates and may differ slightly from the final amount.

Super earners

The SRC guidelines put the monthly salaries of the auditor-general and the attorney-general at between Sh792,000 and Sh1,056,000. But Prof Muigai and Mr Ouko have benefited from the fact that the SRC had stated that State officers whose pay had been set before the commission was established would continue enjoying the higher pay.

Prof Muigai and Mr Ouko both joined the public service in August 2011. Treasury documents also show that Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo is also among an elite group of super earners who pocket millions of shillings monthly.

Her salary and perks remain unchanged at Sh17.6 million annually, or Sh1.4 million monthly.