Members of Parliament are pushing the government to resolve longstanding disparities in hardship allowances given to public servants, calling for a standardized system that ensures fairness across all sectors.
The Cabinet is expected to soon review a detailed report that evaluates which parts of the country are officially classified as hardship areas.
This follows increased pressure from lawmakers, who are concerned about the unequal treatment of public workers posted in similar tough environments but receiving different benefits.
The matter was brought up during a session of the National Assembly’s Committee on Implementation, which was evaluating the progress of a House resolution aimed at increasing housing allowances for teachers working in Kilifi Municipality.
While addressing the committee on Tuesday, Jane Imbunya, the Principal Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development, and Special Programmes, explained that different government institutions use different guidelines to identify hardship areas, leading to glaring inconsistencies in allowance payments.
Imbunya revealed that while the main Civil Service, County Governments, and State Corporations have jointly recognized 16 hardship areas, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) considers 44 regions as hardship zones, and the Judiciary has identified 21 such areas.
“These inconsistencies have created serious confusion and frustration. You’ll find public servants working in the same region, yet they receive different hardship allowances depending on their employer,” the PS stated.
Committee Chairperson Raphael Wanjala, who is also the Member of Parliament for Budalangi, voiced his concerns, questioning why teachers—who are also government employees—are subjected to different standards when it comes to hardship compensation.
“Why is it that teachers don’t receive the same hardship allowances as other public officers, yet they’re part of the public service too?” Wanjala asked.
He emphasized the urgent need to develop a unified policy to ensure equal treatment and fairness in how hardship areas are classified and how allowances are disbursed across all government sectors.
In response, Dr. Imbunya confirmed that efforts were already underway to create a harmonized framework, and the matter was awaiting Cabinet approval to move forward with implementation.
This discussion came up in connection with an earlier petition that led to a parliamentary resolution to increase housing allowances for teachers in Kilifi Municipality. Although this recommendation was only partly acted upon, it brought to light wider concerns about the unequal pay structure across public institutions.
Margaret Njoka, the Acting Secretary and CEO of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), also appeared before the committee. She informed members that housing allowances for Kilifi teachers had already been adjusted under Cluster 3, effective from July 1, 2024.
Njoka further added that the SRC is planning a broader and phased review of all public sector allowances during the upcoming remuneration cycle, covering the 2025/26 to 2029/30 financial years.
The committee concluded by urging for a speedy conclusion to the hardship review exercise, warning that prolonged inequality in pay could lower morale, lead to high staff turnover, and hurt service delivery in underserved regions.
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