Africa-Press – Kenya. Naivasha hoteliers are angered by the Salary and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) move to leave out the town in its review of civil servants daily out of pocket allowance.
They questioned the criteria used by SRC to review upwards the daily allowances for Nakuru town yet it ignored the lakeside town which has emerged as a major conference hub.
Under the newly gazetted rates, Nakuru has been ranked together with Mombasa, Kisumu and Nairobi while Naivasha falls under a lower cluster.
The daily rates for Nakuru have been raised to Sh22,000 for the top civil servants and Sh4,200 for the lowest rank while those staying in Naivasha will get Sh18,000 and Sh3,500 respectively.
According to Rahab Mwihaki from Lake Naivasha Hotel Owners Association, the move was discriminatory as it has locked out Naivasha from the benefits.
“When Nakuru became a city the whole county was supposed to benefit and we are wondering why Naivasha has been left out,” she said on Monday.
She added that the move gives hoteliers in Nakuru an advantage against their Naivasha counterparts.
“Naivasha accounts for over 80 per cent of the top hotels in Nakuru and we are wondering why we have been left out under the new rates,” she said.
A similar concern was raised by Ronnie Muraya who called on Governor Lee Kinyanjui to intervene so that they could equally benefit.
“Workshops are held in particular towns based on the daily subsistence allowances rates and it’s unfair that Naivasha which is the home of conferences has been left out,” he said.
Muraya who is the MD Nest Boutique hotel said that the sector was still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and the new daily subsistence allowances rates would help give their business a boost.
Last month, the state agency released new daily subsistence allowances for local travel and per diem rates for Nakuru after it was elevated into a city.
In a memo, SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich said the review would apply to all Public Service officers in the national and county governments as from February 2.
“The respective accounting officers are required to ensure prudent management of this facilitative allowance,” she said in the memo.
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