By EDWIN MUTAI
Members of Parliament plan to annul the gazette
notice the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) published on March
1 slashing their monthly salaries to Sh543,000 down from Sh850,000.
MPs intend to commence the process of reversing
the legal notice through the Committee on Delegated Legislation which is
expected to be formally constituted Tuesday afternoon.
Once the committee is formed, it will commence the
process of investigating the conduct of SRC and recommend whether or
not the 14 member commission should be removed from office for “gross
violation of the Constitution and gross misconduct” for reviewing MPs
salaries downwards.
Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi who has prepared
18 counts charge sheet and a further 12 charges against the Sarah
Serem-led commission will defend his petition seeking the removal of the
commissioners.
Speaker Justin Muturi on Thursday referred the petition to the relevant departmental committee for action.
“I have not heard you direct that the Committee on
Delegated Legislation be seized of the matter so that we can deal with
the issue of our payment as soon as possible and get paid tomorrow
(Friday), Kitutu Chache North MP Jimmy Angwenyi said on Thursday.
The Parliamentary Service Commission will use the
committee to propose amendments that will annul the gazette notice in
order to facilitate payment of salaries that were paid to members of the
10th Parliament. MPs and Senators have not been paid since taking
office on March 28.
On Thursday PSC vice chairman Adan Keynan tabled
in the House a Sh24.5 billion budget that includes salaries and
allowances fixed at the rate of the 10th Parliament’s.
PSC defied SRC’s notice that set the new salaries
to table the budget that contains Sh841.2 million to pay MPs salaries
and an additional Sh3.3 billion for personal allowances payable to the
lawmakers in the next financial year beginning July.
Based on the amounts set for salaries and
allowances, each of the 349 Members of the National Assembly and the
Speaker are entitled to a monthly salary of Sh200,285 and Sh788,057 in
allowances while the 67 senators and the Speaker will be entitled to a
monthly package of Sh1.36 million, including Sh812,525 in allowances and
a basic pay of Sh550, 875.
The 418 members of Parliament will also be
entitled to a Sh7 million car grant once the SRC notice is reversed by
the committee. SRC had allowed each member to take a loan of Sh7 million
that will be repayable at a three per cent per annum interest.
In a bid to fast track the exercise of repealing
the SRC gazette notice, Mr Muturi directed the Majority and Minority
whips to ensure that the list of members to serve in the 28 departmental
and select committees is tabled and approved by Parliament Tuesday.
The delay in constituting the House committees was
occasioned by a stand-off between the ruling Jubilee alliance and the
opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) which are locked
in a tussle over the composition and leadership of the watchdog
committees, the Public Accounts and the Public Investments.
“I direct the Whips of the Majority and Minority
parties to ensure that the list of all members to the committees be
tabled on Tuesday for approval without fail. We cannot afford to let
Kenyans down given the amount of work ahead of us,” ordered Muturi on
Thursday.
Cord, which has a minority membership in the House has laid
claim on the chairmanship of the two committees and majority in its
composition.
Jubilee which is entitled by Standing Orders to
have 17 members out of the total 27 has ceded ground to allow Cord have
13 instead of 10 slots.
“We have ceded ground from 17 to 14 slots. But
Cord is insisting that it gets the 14 slots and Jubilee takes 13 despite
them chairing the two committees. This is not acceptable,” said Katoo
ole Metito, the Majority Party Whip.
Minority Leader Francis Nyenze said Cord will not
accept to chair the two oversight committees unless it has majority
membership because the opposition “will be lame duck.”
“Our position is that we have to chair the two
committees and have majority membership. That position has not changed,
it will not change and it will never change,” Nyenze said.
Minority Whip Gideon Mung’aro told Business Daily that Cord had completed its list of members to the various committees two weeks ago.
“We have completed our list of members to the
committees. In fact ours was complete two weeks ago. It’s the Jubilee
side that is delaying us,” said the Malindi MP.
The delay in constitution the committees has
stalled business of the House because substantive business such as Bills
cannot be transacted without committee scrutiny.
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