Moses Kuria rejects new salary increments contained in the gazette notice, a slap in the face of many struggling Kenyans. He demands that the Commission kill the new pay structure in totality from the top down. This comes as members of the public rise up against MPs and senators getting more money in salaries and allowances at a time when economic times are biting.
The tussle heightened when the Generation Z populace protested against the passing of the Finance Bill, which aimed to increase taxes on already constrained people financially. This was surprising since ordinary citizens were facing an increment in tax at a time when top government officials were overincreasing their salaries and allowances.
Many citizens now reckon that top government officials' salaries should be cut even further, not because it would badly hurt their own pockets but because it is not fair for them to continue enjoying at the cost of the rest of the country.
Moses Kuria stands for increasing public dissatisfaction. By rejecting the gazette notice, he tries to indirectly say that he stands with people at the grassroots who are squeezed financially. He will be interpreted as meaning a reaction to the shouting in the broader arena of economic inequality and lack of leadership empathy.
That shows that some emerging chasm between the government and the governed, insofar as financial fairness and burden-sharing in challenging times, are concerned.