SRC Proposes Linking Civil Servants’ Salaries to Productivity in New Bill as Eldoret Hosts Public Participation Forum

By Elvis Wasike

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has proposed sweeping reforms in Kenya’s public sector, seeking to establish a stronger link between the productivity of public servants, their performance and the remuneration they receive.

The proposed reforms are contained in the National Productivity and Performance Bill, 2026, which is intended to provide a legal framework for assessing productivity across government institutions and ensuring that public officers and organisations are rewarded according to their performance and contribution to service delivery.

The proposals were discussed on Thursday, October 22, 2026, during a public participation forum held in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, where government representatives, private-sector players, informal-sector associations and youth organisations presented their views on the proposed legislation.

The forum also provided an opportunity for the SRC to seek public input on the National Productivity Policy, 2026, and the National Productivity Framework, which are expected to guide the implementation of productivity and performance reforms in the country.

SRC Vice Chairperson Dr Gilda Odera said the commission was engaging Kenyans to ensure that the proposed policy, framework and bill reflected the concerns and expectations of the people who would be affected by their implementation.

Odera explained that the process followed a National Productivity Conference held in May 2026, which brought together representatives of the national government, county governments, the SRC and other stakeholders to discuss ways of improving productivity in the public sector.

She said the conference produced seven resolutions aimed at strengthening productivity and improving the performance of government institutions.

According to Odera, the ongoing public participation exercise was intended to gather additional views from citizens and public officers before the proposed reforms progress to the next stages.

She emphasised that public participation was essential in developing policies and legislation that affect government operations, remuneration and service delivery.

“We are here today to listen to the public as we share with them what we have in mind,” Odera said, explaining that the commission wanted to ensure the three documents were aligned and reflected the views of the different stakeholders.

The SRC vice chairperson said the proposed reforms were expected to address longstanding gaps in the way public-sector performance is measured, particularly the relationship between the resources allocated to institutions and the actual results they deliver.

### SRC seeks to address gaps in performance contracting

Odera said the current performance contracting system did not adequately capture the link between productivity and performance, creating a need for a more comprehensive framework anchored in law.

She observed that government institutions could meet their stated targets and utilise allocated budgets without necessarily demonstrating the level of productivity expected by citizens.

Under the proposed framework, the commission intends to strengthen the assessment of how effectively public institutions and their employees use available resources to achieve meaningful results.

The reforms are expected to shift attention beyond the completion of assigned tasks to include the quality, efficiency and value of services delivered to the public.

Odera said the proposed National Productivity and Performance Bill, 2026, would provide the legal foundation needed to incorporate productivity into the performance contracting system.

She noted that the SRC's mandate includes promoting appropriate remuneration linked to productivity and performance, but the absence of a comprehensive legal framework had made it difficult to establish a consistent basis for rewarding public officers.

The commission wants individual employees and public institutions to be assessed according to their respective contributions, with productivity carrying greater weight in performance evaluations.

Odera said the proposed approach would help address concerns among public officers who believe that their efforts, achievements and contributions are not always reflected fairly in their remuneration, promotions and benefits.

She added that a fair and transparent reward system would encourage employees to become more productive and competitive while strengthening accountability in public service.

“The citizens want to see the public sector delivering,” she said, noting that public officers themselves were also part of the wider public and deserved a fair system of remuneration.

Odera said the proposed reforms were intended to ensure that the government could assess productivity more effectively and establish a stronger relationship between performance and the rewards public officers receive.

She expressed optimism that the initiative would help improve the delivery of public services and strengthen public confidence in government institutions.

Uasin Gishu administration backs proposed legislation

Henry Rop, the Deputy County Commissioner representing the Uasin Gishu County Commissioner, welcomed the proposed bill, describing it as an important step towards strengthening accountability and improving productivity among civil servants.

Rop thanked participants for attending the forum and contributing to discussions on the proposed legislation, saying the country needed a framework that clearly connected the responsibilities of public officers with the results they were expected to deliver.

He observed that public service had for a long time lacked a sufficiently comprehensive legal framework to establish a clear relationship between productivity and performance.

According to Rop, the proposed bill would help change the way public institutions operate by strengthening the obligation of public officers to deliver services in line with their responsibilities.

He said the reforms were timely, particularly at a time when Kenyans expected government institutions to become more responsive, efficient and accountable.

Rop expressed confidence that the proposed law would improve service delivery once implemented, arguing that public institutions had to focus on meeting the expectations of citizens rather than merely fulfilling routine administrative requirements.

He said residents of Uasin Gishu and other parts of the country expected public servants to provide services efficiently and demonstrate measurable results.

Rop further emphasised the need to strengthen accountability in public offices, saying officers should be assessed based on their actual contributions to service delivery.

He argued that the proposed framework would help discourage laxity among public officers and encourage a culture in which employees take their responsibilities seriously.

The deputy county commissioner said the proposed reforms could also help bring public-sector performance closer to standards associated with productivity and efficiency in the private sector.

He maintained that the implementation of a clear legal framework would be an important step towards improving service delivery across the country.

Kenya's productivity ranking raises concern

During the forum, SRC officials highlighted concerns about Kenya's productivity performance compared with other African countries.

One of the officials involved in the discussions stated that Kenya was ranked 27th among 54 African countries in productivity, arguing that the country was not performing to its full potential.

The official said Kenya had the capacity to achieve better results but needed to improve the way public institutions translated available resources, skills and capabilities into measurable outcomes.

The official attributed part of the challenge to the existing performance contracting arrangements, which do not sufficiently incorporate productivity as a distinct component of performance assessment.

The proposed reforms are intended to address that gap by giving productivity a defined weight in evaluating the performance of civil servants and state officers.

Under the envisioned approach, public officers would be assessed not only on whether they meet their assigned targets but also on the extent to which their work contributes to improved services and the efficient use of public resources.

SRC officials expressed confidence that the proposed framework would help the country improve its productivity performance over time by encouraging a results-oriented culture across government institutions.

They said stronger public participation would also help build support for the reforms among employees, citizens and other stakeholders whose cooperation would be necessary for successful implementation.

The commission is seeking to establish a system in which productivity becomes an integral part of public-sector management rather than an additional consideration in performance reviews.

 Jua Kali sector seeks designated industrial work sites

The proposed reforms also attracted submissions from representatives of the informal sector, who called for greater recognition of small businesses and artisans in efforts to improve national productivity.

Richard Opar, the North Rift regional coordinator of the Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali Associations, said the proposed National Productivity and Performance Bill, 2026, provided an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sectors.

Opar said the federation was participating in the process on behalf of informal-sector players and had prepared a 14-page memorandum containing proposals that would be submitted to the relevant ministry.

Among the key proposals is the establishment of designated industrial work sites for Jua Kali artisans and other informal-sector businesses.

He said such facilities would provide an enabling environment for production, innovation and the growth of small enterprises, allowing artisans to work more effectively and improve the quality and quantity of their output.

Opar argued that the informal sector should be recognised as an important contributor to employment, production and revenue generation, and should therefore be considered in national productivity planning.

He said improvements in public-sector performance needed to be accompanied by measures that support businesses and workers outside government institutions.

According to Opar, the proposed legislation should encourage stronger collaboration between government agencies and private-sector players to improve economic performance.

He urged Parliament to give the bill serious consideration and ensure that discussions on the proposed reforms lead to legislation that supports productivity across different sectors of the economy.

Opar expressed support for the initiative, saying the inclusion of the informal sector would help ensure that national productivity efforts reflected the realities of businesses operating at the grassroots.

He also called for the concerns presented by Jua Kali associations to be considered in the development of policies and programmes intended to promote production and innovation.

The federation's proposed designated industrial work sites are intended to address challenges faced by artisans who operate in areas without adequate facilities to support their activities.

Opar said improving the working environment for informal-sector players would contribute to increased productivity and create opportunities for more efficient production.

He maintained that public-private sector cooperation would be critical in ensuring that the proposed reforms deliver benefits beyond government offices.

 Youth raise questions over public value and service delivery

Youth representatives also used the Eldoret forum to raise questions about how the proposed reforms would translate into tangible benefits for young Kenyans.

Mercy  Chepchumba, the Secretary General of JANA Kenya, said one of the major issues raised during the discussions concerned the concept of public value outlined in the proposed bill.

Chepchumba questioned how young people would experience public value in their daily interactions with government institutions and whether the proposed framework would lead to improvements in the quality and speed of public services.

He said young people were increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of public service delivery and wanted to see government institutions respond more efficiently to their needs.

Chepchumba argued that young Kenyans should be regarded as active participants in the country's development rather than being continually described as leaders of tomorrow.

He said the time had come for the concerns of young people to be reflected more directly in policies and legislation affecting public institutions.

One of the questions raised by the youth representative was whether linking the productivity of civil servants to performance would lead to faster service delivery and reduce delays experienced by members of the public.

He also sought clarity on whether the proposed reforms would have a lasting impact and safeguard the interests of future generations.

Chepchumba further questioned how the proposed legislation would apply to the private sector, noting that the bill contained provisions relating to private-sector involvement.

He said it was important for the government to clarify the relationship between public-sector productivity and private-sector participation to ensure that the proposed framework was understood by all stakeholders.

The youth representative said the concerns raised during the forum were intended to ensure that the proposed reforms addressed practical challenges experienced by young people when seeking services from public institutions.

He maintained that the success of the proposed framework should ultimately be reflected in the value citizens receive from government services.

Public participation to shape final proposals

The Eldoret forum formed part of a wider SRC-led public participation exercise being conducted across the country, with other teams engaging stakeholders in regions including Nairobi, the Coast and Central Kenya.

The commission is seeking views from different groups to ensure that the proposed National Productivity Policy, 2026, the National Productivity Framework and the National Productivity and Performance Bill, 2026, are aligned and responsive to the needs of the country.

The engagement is expected to help identify gaps, clarify concerns and incorporate stakeholder recommendations into the ongoing policy and legislative process.

Participants at the Eldoret meeting called for the proposed reforms to recognise the contributions of public servants, strengthen accountability, improve working conditions for informal-sector players and ensure that young people benefit from better public services.

The discussions also highlighted the need to balance fair remuneration for employees with the responsibility of public institutions to deliver measurable results to taxpayers.

For the SRC, the central objective is to establish a framework that links productivity to performance in a manner that encourages efficiency, fairness and accountability across the public sector.

The proposed reforms would require further consideration through the relevant policy and legislative processes before any new requirements could be implemented.

If adopted and effectively implemented, the framework could mark a significant shift in how public-sector productivity is assessed, with greater emphasis on measurable results, responsible use of resources and the quality of services delivered to Kenyans.

The commission hopes that the resulting system will encourage public officers to become more productive, support fairer remuneration practices and strengthen the relationship between government performance and the expectations of citizens.