The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has raised the monthly honorarium paid to chairpersons of state corporations by Sh50,000 to Sh130,000, under a revised package that also increases sitting allowances for board members.
SRC chairperson Sammy Chepkwony communicated the new rates to State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC) chairperson Philip Mong’ony in a letter dated October 13, 2026, The Star reported. Chairpersons currently earn about Sh80,000 a month.
The review followed a request by SCAC in June and was approved at the commission’s meeting on October 6.
Sitting allowance rises to Sh30,000
Ordinary board members will not receive a monthly honorarium. They will instead be paid Sh30,000 for every sitting, up from Sh20,000. Chairpersons will receive the same sitting allowance on top of their honoraria.
On The Star’s calculations, a chairperson attending four board meetings in a month would collect Sh120,000 in sitting allowances, taking total monthly payments to Sh250,000 before other benefits. The paper estimated that, with about 290 parastatals in the country, the cost of honoraria alone will rise by Sh174 million.
Medical cover and other allowances
The package includes annual medical cover of up to Sh3 million for inpatient treatment and Sh200,000 for outpatient care, Capital FM reported, as well as a last-expense benefit of Sh200,000.
Chairpersons will get a monthly telephone allowance of Sh7,000, up from Sh5,000, while other members will receive Sh5,000. Board members will also be paid a daily lunch allowance of Sh2,700 where meals are not provided, Sh700 more than the previous rate.
Where official transport is not available, travel costs will be reimbursed at Automobile Association rates. For official trips, board members qualify for local and international subsistence allowances pegged on Job Group ‘U’ rates, the level of chief executive officers, which The Star said attracts up to Sh22,000 a day. State corporations have also been told to buy personal accident insurance for board members travelling on official business.
Existing contracts protected
The letter directs corporations that pay above the new ceilings to comply, but serving board members will keep their current terms.
“State corporations paying above the approved maximum ceiling will be required to comply from the effective date of this letter, except for the serving board members who shall retain their prevailing rates on a personal to holder basis subject to the current contract,” Chepkwony said in the letter, as quoted by The Star.
How quickly the new structure takes hold will therefore depend partly on the contracts and rates in place at individual corporations.
Wage bill pressure
The review lands as the government tries to contain a public wage bill that The Star put at Sh1.3 trillion a year. In April 2024, the Cabinet approved revised guidelines on the terms of service for state corporation boards and staff, which it said were aligned with directives on fiscal consolidation and the management of state corporations.
SRC is mandated by the Constitution to set and regularly review the pay of state officers and to advise the national and county governments on the remuneration of other public officers. In doing so, it is expected to weigh fiscal sustainability, fairness, transparency, productivity and the need to attract and retain skills in the public service.
