National police service officers who occupy government houses in wide array of police camps shall be categorically required to pay rent and cater for their own utilities and service costs. This recent move that cuts all forces ecompassing Kenya prisons service, Administrative police, K.W.S, regular police, General service unit among other cadres of units has witnessed a foggy and vague disquiet engulf the workforce that makes our Kenya's police.
Campuserian learns that a go - slow is privy and imminent as officers are seriously offended by the unscrupulous monies which do not before their standards of their lives and those of their loved ones.
"I have been working for the government since '82. I'm am as we speak on the verge of cruising promptly into retirement. What is 15,000 for a Sergeant of prisons like me. It is only 5 years to my retirement. I have a family. Shall the above figure cater for my already grown family of 4. In the present time... This is should be a joke and we feel shortchanged," reiterated a Sergeant whose name is withheld on grounds of anonymity. The worthy Kenyan officer is a sergeant at King'orani prison, Mombasa Remands home.
Officers cruising in pay grade "12" (senior cadre - senior assistant inspector general) based within the metropolitan Nairobi will duly pocket sh. 63,646.
Privy, it is of worth to note that out of an estimated 100,000 blue uniformed police officers, only the ones above inspector rank earn house allowances as it stands currently.
One letter (signal) in police parlance from the police HQ to regional directors postulates that officers will start receiving house and commuter allowances from December. Albeit the ceremonious signal, chief afandes do believe that whatever they are getting from the government is minute as to withstand the current real estate market presently.
The disbursement of the aforementioned allowances shall be on grounds and merit of rank and position.
"The new rates of house allowances which will be implemented with effect from December 1," affirmed a letter backdropped to be scribbled on Friday and signed by Mr. Larry Kieng' - director of the Kenya Police Service.
Grade, common a terminology as job group(1-15) and the region of deployment come in handy and the new rates of house allowance shall be based on those.
The letter also indicates that police officers occupying houses inside the famous 'kambis' shall be required to immediately vacate the government houses once the salaries are adjusted and fend for their own houses, utilities and service cost.
"If we are to vacate government houses within major cities the likes of Mombasa, Nairobi, Kisumu; then it becomes father worse a situation. You cannot find a house from CBD. Peculiarly, the rates of houses in Central Business District especially Nairobi do not match with the peanut allowances weather are being offered. This is shortchanging at it's best," reiterates Peter Njuguna, a Kenya Prisons Service police sergeant at Mombasa Remands Home.
Those with larger families also grieve that the amount possibly shall not allow one to find a plausible residence; since it is too meagre too little.
"I have 3 kids and one wife to my belt. Even a queer 12,000 will not be enough to facilitate our housing. In this Kenya if ours, where really shall I land a rental residential 3 bedroom house with enough space for my family and house maid at 12,000 a price? I presume nowhere," reiterates Albert Santa Gideon, also a regular police corporal, Tononoka police station, Mombasa.
Albeit all the debacle, interior cabinet secretary Fred Matiang'i has defended the housing and commuter allowances for police officers. He says the figures we're arrived at after hefty consultations.
"We were advised by SRC, Treasury and PSC who determined the allowances. They also introduced commuter allowances. They were never there before," said the C's.
Beside the commuter and house allowance, the close to 100,000 officers shall receive supplimebtation allowance, to cater for their electricity and water bills among others.
Those working in operational units shall be paid supplements. Most officers do not live with their families at their operational matrices. So the monies we shall give them shall be used to fend for shelter of their families away from the government houses in places they already are housed." Said Charles Owino, National police spokesman in an interview on K24 TV at 7:21 PM Saturday interview with Mwanaisha Chidzuga.
An internal memo dated December 13 says the monies will be paid starting December 1.
"This applicable allowances at the stated rates include house and commuter allowance as well as housing supplimentation which will be paid effective December 1, 2018," reads the memo.
The government initially had planned to pay police officers' constables in Nairobi upto ksh. 18,124 per month, and ksh. 13,124 for constables from Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Meru and Uasin Gishu. Other counties would have their own constables receive ksh.8,124.
The lower cadre officers - constables and corporals will now get ksh.9,500 as house allowance for those in Nairobi and ksh. 4000 as commuter allowance.
Similar rank officers in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Thika, Malindi, Kisii, Eldoret, Kakamega and Kitale will earn ksh. 7,000 while those in other regions will get ksh. 5,500.
A Nairobi sergeant will earn ksh. 9,800 as house allowance, ksh. 4000 as commuter allowance. Those in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi ostensibly shall be set to recieveksh. 7,300 and other regions ksh. 5,700.
A gruesome amount of ksh. 15,700 for house allowance and ksh. 4,000 for commuter allowance is likely to be fished out to a senior sergeant of police in Nairobi.
"Many officers are complaining on matters their delayed December payslips. Albeit this, what we reassure them is that when they come out, the changes shall have duly been effected there in and allowances credited," affirms Charles Owino.
