Kenyan tax payers will pay out sh573.7 million for gratuity packages for 19 Cabinet Secretaries and 41 Principal Secretaries.
Each Cabinet Secretary who served in Jubilee’s first term is set to walk away with sh14.6 million in gratuity payment while Principal Secretaries pocket sh11.8 million each of the same.
Those sworn in May 2013 will get sh14.6 million.
They include Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, Raychelle Omamo (Defense), James Macharia (Transport), Amina Mohamed (Foreign Affairs), Fred Matiang’I (Education), Jacob Kaimenyi (Lands) and Phylis Kandie (Labour).
Charles Keter (Energy), Willy Bett (Agriculture), Sicily Kariuki (Gender and Youth Affairs), Joe Mucheru (ICT), Dan Kazungu (Mining), Cleopa Mailu (Health), and Mwangi Kiunjuri (Devolution) who joined Cabinet after a reshuffle in December 2015 will take home sh5.7 million each.
For Water and Irrigation CS Eugene Wamalwa, he will get sh6.9 million in gratuity. He joined Cabinet in July 2015.
For Principal Secretaries Belio Kipsang (Education), Joseph Njoroge (Energy), Mariamu El Maawy (Land) and Mwanamaka Amani Mabruki, they will get sh11.8 million each. They have served consistently since 2013 when Jubilee came to power.
PSs Betty Maina, Victor Kyalo, Chris Kiptoo and Susan Mochache, will get Sh4.7 million in gratuity. They are part of those brought on board after expansion of the state departments from 26 to 41 in December 2015.
According to Salaries and Remuneration Commission guidelines, CSs and PSs are not subject to pension but gratuity paid at 31 per cent of annual basic pay for every year served.
Still, regardless of if a CS will be reappointed, he/she will get the gratuity.
“A State officer serving on fixed term shall serve on contract and be paid a service gratuity at the end of the term at the rate of 31 per cent of annual basic pay for every year served,” reads a SRC gazette notice as quoted by Business Daily.
By Pharis Kinyua. He’s an online Journalist and an author for Jamhuri News