SRC Launches Bold And Transformative Strategic Plan

By Jael Keya, Brenda Chang’ach and Anthony Mwangi

Pomp and glamour marked the official launch of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) Strategic Plan for the period 2025/2026 – 2029/2030.

The launch, which was officiated by Hon. Felix Koskei, Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, drew leadership and representatives from Constitutional Commissions and Independent Offices (CCIOs), ministries, departments and agencies, civil society organisations, religious institutions, international organisations, the private sector, media and the public.

Stakeholders converged at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi, on 29 October 2025, to witness SRC’s renewed commitment to steering a fiscally sustainable and productivity-driven public service.

In his keynote address, Hon. Koskei highlighted the importance of the management of the wage bill, promotion of transparency, and ensuring equity across the public service. These measures, he noted, will help nurture a results-driven public service grounded in excellence, integrity, and the prudent use of national resources.

He emphasised the need to manage Kenya’s public wage bill, which currently consumes about 40 per cent of the national revenue, calling for collective action to reduce the wage-bill-to-revenue ratio to 35 per cent by 2028.

Hon. Koskei touched on productivity and performance as central to public service transformation. He praised SRC’s ongoing initiatives such as the ‘Framework for Recognising Productivity and Performance in the Public Service’, urging institutions to embed productivity in performance contracts.

“Public service productivity is a transformative agenda that will enhance competitiveness, service delivery, and sustainable remuneration,” Hon. Koskei affirmed. He concluded by encouraging collaboration across government institutions to support SRC in implementing the Strategic Plan’s objectives.

In his speech, Sammy Chepkwony, SRC Chairperson, noted: “Today marks a significant milestone in our collective journey towards a fair, transparent and sustainable remuneration framework for Kenya’s public service.”

Chepkwony noted: “The Strategic Plan articulates strategic priorities that will enable SRC to build institutional agility, strengthen its operational capacity, foster meaningful stakeholder engagement, enhance public awareness on its mandate, and embed data-driven decision-making in public service wage management.”

In her address delivered by Hon. Justice William Ouko, the Chief Justice Hon. Martha Koome noted that the launch was critical, not just for SRC, but for the broader public service. “This is because the new strategic plan will certainly provide direction, coherence, and accountability in the remuneration for all State and public officers. It will translate ideals and principles into measurable action, guiding how SRC will deliver on its mandate,” she said.

Also, speaking at the event, Dr. Jane Imbunya, Principal Secretary, State Department for Public Service and Human Capital Development, commended SRC for the notable milestones achieved so far since coming into office in January 2025. She urged SRC to ensure its initiatives remain impactful, measurable, and time-bound, as focus remains sustained on the management of the wage bill.

On his part, Gershom Otachi, Chairperson of the National Land Commission, and former Chairperson of CCIOs Forum, commended SRC for its leadership, foresight, and dedication to the strengthening of governance through sound remuneration and productivity frameworks.

The five Key Result Areas that anchor SRC’s Strategic Plan include: KRA 1: Recognition of Productivity and Performance; KRA 2: Sustainable Wage Bill Management for Equity and Fairness; KRA 3: Policy, Legal, Research and Compliance; KRA 4: Communication, Stakeholder Engagement, Public Awareness and Partnerships; and KRA 5: Institutional Strengthening and Digital Transformation.

The Strategic Plan’s emphasis on digital transformation, institutional strengthening, and stakeholder engagement underscores SRC’s recognition that sustainable change demands inclusivity, accountability, and adaptability.

The unveiling of the Strategic Plan signals more than just a new chapter, it signifies a shared resolve to entrench fiscal discipline, while rewarding productivity and performance in the public service.

The Strategic Plan is the result of a comprehensive, consultative, and inclusive process that drew insights from a wide range of stakeholders. SRC undertook a thorough situational analysis and review of the outgoing Strategic Plan for the period 2019/2020 – 2023/2024, to capture lessons learned and identify emerging issues and opportunities.

The lessons learned in past Commissions offered a forward-looking framework through which SRC will continue to advance the government’s agenda of a fiscally sustainable public wage bill.

Importantly, the Strategic Plan aligns with Kenya’s national and global development frameworks — including Vision2030, the Fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP IV), the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), the African Union Agenda 2063, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among other key local, regional and global reference points.

This alignment ensures that the Strategic Plan addresses domestic remuneration and productivity concerns and integrates regional and global best practices in wage management and public service performance. Through these synergies, SRC aims to foster a culture where public resources are managed prudently, and productivity and performance is the justification for remuneration.

During the event, Spoken Word poet, Gcho, depicted the launch event by reiterating, “Because this plan, this Strategic Plan, isn’t ink on paper, it’s intention in motion. So today, we don’t just launch a document, we launch direction. We raise a flag of accountability, we ignite innovation, we harmonise hope with hard data. For the future is calling, and SRC is answering, with objectivity as its rhythm, with integrity as its rhyme, and with Kenya as its reason.”

In this five-year journey, SRC reaffirms its role as a steward of equity and productivity in public service remuneration, advancing not just numbers on a payroll, but trust, efficiency, and national prosperity.

As implementation rolls out, and in the spirit of interdependence and a whole-of-government approach, the success of SRC’s Strategic Plan will depend on the collective commitment and support by stakeholders to translate strategic intentions into measurable outcomes.

“I call upon all stakeholders across the national and county governments to actively support its execution. Together, we can realise a public service that is productive, accountable, and sustainably remunerated,” Chepkwony concluded.