SRC SEEKS LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO LINK PUBLIC SERVANTS’ PAY TO PRODUCTIVITY AS KENYA RANKS 27TH IN AFRICA
“Kenya today is ranked number 27 out of 54 countries in Africa, in terms of productivity,” Odera said, arguing that the country was not achieving as much as its available capacity could support.
SRC Vice Chairperson Dr. Gilda Odera addresses journalists during a media briefing in Eldoret on the proposed National Productivity and Performance Bill, 2026, which seeks to link public servants’ performance and productivity to recognition and rewards.
By James Gitaka | Eldoret
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is pushing for a legal framework that links public servants’ remuneration and rewards to measurable productivity, in a reform aimed at improving government efficiency, accountability and service delivery.
The proposal was discussed during a public participation forum held in Eldoret on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, bringing together government officials, business representatives, youth organisations and other stakeholders to examine the proposed National Productivity and Performance Bill, 2026, and related policy instruments.
SRC Vice Chairperson Dr Gilda Odera said the proposed legislation would address a longstanding gap in the public sector by formally incorporating productivity into performance assessments and reward systems.
She argued that existing performance contracting has largely focused on whether institutions meet predetermined targets, without adequately measuring how efficiently they use resources to achieve those results.
“The current performance contract does not have weighting of productivity. This will anchor productivity in performance contracting, so that there is a weight to it and each and every civil servant or state officer will have to deliver based on that and will be rated based on that,” Odera said.
She said the proposed legislation would provide the legal foundation required for SRC to fulfil its constitutional mandate of recognising and rewarding productivity and performance.
“Kenya today is ranked number 27 out of 54 countries in Africa, in terms of productivity,” Odera said, arguing that the country was not achieving as much as its available capacity could support.
Moving beyond targets to measurable results
Odera said the proposed framework would assess productivity at both individual and institutional levels, ensuring that employees and the organisations they serve are evaluated against measurable outcomes.
Under the proposed approach, public institutions would be expected to demonstrate not only that they have achieved their targets, but also that they have used public resources efficiently to deliver value to citizens.
The commission argues that this distinction is necessary because meeting a target does not automatically demonstrate that an institution has achieved the best possible results from its allocated budget, workforce and other resources.
The proposals seek to make productivity an explicit component of performance contracting, with individual public officers and state officers assessed against defined productivity criteria.
Odera said the reforms could also help address concerns among public servants about remuneration by establishing a clearer relationship between their contributions and the rewards they receive.
“Citizens want to see the public sector delivering. But the citizens also want to see, because citizens include the public officers, and the public officers want to see themselves remunerated better,” she said.
She added that the proposed framework was intended to change the way performance is evaluated and rewarded across government institutions.
“I believe that when it is implemented, service delivery will improve in public service,” Odera said.
Deputy County Commissioner backs proposed legislation
Ainabkoi Deputy County Commissioner Henry Rop urged the government to ensure that the proposed legislation proceeds through the necessary parliamentary processes and is fully implemented if approved.
Rop said the reforms could help improve national productivity, but stressed the importance of addressing practical concerns surrounding implementation, particularly the role of the private sector and the future of young people.
“We do encourage this Bill to be effected to the fullest and the discussion to take the centre stage of Parliament and it to be passed, because this one is going to make Kenya increase productivity,” Rop said.
He said public participation had raised important questions about whether the proposed reforms would translate into tangible benefits for citizens and remain relevant over the long term.
“One of the most important and critical questions we had today was public value. How are we going to feel it as youth? Is this something that is going to have a continuity years to come? Is this something that is going to safeguard the future of the youth of Kenya?” he asked.
Rop noted that concerns about delays and inefficiencies in public service delivery had persisted for years, making it important for the proposed framework to produce visible improvements.
He questioned whether linking performance to productivity would result in faster services for citizens and whether the principles outlined in the Bill would also extend to the private sector.
“Are we going to get fast delivery based on productivity of civil servants? And also, is this also going to spill out to the private sector?” he said.
Rop also highlighted proposals concerning designated industrial work sites for private-sector players, saying a memorandum was being prepared for submission to the relevant ministry.
The proposed sites, he said, would be intended to support production and innovation.
Jua Kali sector seeks support for productivity
The forum also brought together Richard Opar, the North Rift regional coordinator of the Jua Kali Association, whose constituency includes artisans, traders and small-scale entrepreneurs.
Productivity in the informal sector is influenced by access to markets, appropriate working spaces, skills, technology, affordable financing and a supportive business environment.
The proposed reforms have therefore prompted wider discussions about how productivity can be improved beyond government offices, including through better conditions for small businesses to create jobs and expand production.
For the Jua Kali sector, designated work sites and improved access to infrastructure could provide opportunities to increase output, improve working conditions and encourage innovation.
However, any such proposals would require clear implementation plans, adequate resources and coordination between national and county governments.
Youth employment and public value
Vijana Kenya Secretary-General Mercy Chepchumba was also among the stakeholders involved in the Eldoret discussions.
Youth representatives have a particular interest in whether improved government efficiency can translate into better access to public services, employment opportunities and support for entrepreneurship.
The proposed framework raises questions about how productivity should be measured in ways that promote fairness, improve service delivery and protect the long-term interests of younger generations.
Kenya’s position in Africa
Kenya’s productivity performance provides an important backdrop to the proposed reforms.
The International Labour Organization data cited in SRC-related reporting placed Kenya 27th out of 54 African countries in labour productivity in 2023.
The commission argues that Kenya has the capacity to achieve stronger results but needs a more consistent way to connect performance assessments with productivity.
The broader challenge is to ensure that institutions use public resources efficiently, improve the quality of their services and deliver measurable benefits to citizens.
The rankings alone do not explain the causes of Kenya’s productivity challenges, which can also be influenced by investment, technology, infrastructure, skills and conditions across different sectors of the economy.
Nevertheless, they provide a benchmark for the national debate on how productivity can be improved and how public institutions can contribute to economic competitiveness.
Legal and policy framework
Article 230(5)(c) of the Constitution of Kenya requires the SRC to take into account the need to recognise productivity and performance when carrying out its mandate.
The proposed National Productivity and Performance Bill, 2026, the Draft National Productivity Management Policy, 2026, and the Revised Framework for Recognising Productivity and Performance in the Public Service are intended to strengthen the link between institutional results, individual contributions and rewards.
The SRC has said the framework should rely on verifiable evidence, objective evaluation, achievement of set targets and the government’s ability to sustain the costs of financial incentives.
The proposed Bill is intended to provide a legal foundation for productivity and performance management, while the accompanying policy would offer broader guidance on improving productivity across the public sector.
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