Pressure on PSC to enforce one-third salary rule on public servants
Pressure on PSC to enforce one-third salary rule on public servants
The Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly (PAC) has called on the Public Service Commission (PSC) to develop regulations to prevent public servants from taking home salaries below the required level.
During the committee meeting in parliament on Thursday, April 2, PAC urged PSC to enforce the one-third rule on every public servant’s net pay, which requires servants to take home at least one-third of their basic salary.
The committee raised the issue while meeting State House Comptroller Katoo Ole Metito during the examination of Auditor-General’s reports for the financial years ending June 30, 2024, and 2025.
According to the audit report for the 2023/2024 financial year, over 78 staff at State House were earning net salaries below the legal threshold due to excessive deductions.
The one-third rule is provided under Section 19(3) of the Employment Act, 2007, which limits total deductions to no more than two-thirds of an employee’s basic salary.
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This means that an employee must take home at least one-third of their basic pay after all deductions have been made.
During the meeting, committee Chairperson Tindi Mwale, who is also MP for Butere constituency, expressed concern that the issue has been recurring across other government institutions.
“We are concerned that this matter keeps recurring. It’s not only in State House but other state agencies and arms of government. We urge the Public Service Commission to come up with policy and regulations to end this problem once and for all,” Mwale stated.
The committee noted that excessive deductions are often linked to loan repayments, salary advances, check-off systems, and court-ordered recoveries.
In response, the State House controller told the committee that management interventions had reduced the number of affected staff.
“Out of the 78 that were affected in that financial year of 2023/2024, we tried the management way and the numbers have reduced. By the end of last month, we only have 14 out of 78 who are now taking home less than a third. By end of this month, we will have only four,” Ole Metito revealed.
The committee maintained that continued cases of non-compliance point to weaknesses in payroll oversight and called for urgent regulatory action to address the matter across the public service.
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