Our stand informed by Constitution, say commissions

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairman Sarah Serem (left) in conversation with the chairman of the Commission on Administrative Justice Otiende Amollo (centre) and Commission for Implementation of the Constitution chairman Charles Nyachae (right) at the Serena Hotel, Nairobi May 31, 2013. They said their stand on MPs' pay was informed by the Constitution. JENNIFER MUIRURI 

By LUCAS BARASA
 

 

Constitutional commissions have told MPs to stop arm-twisting them to give in to their demands by threatening to reduce their budgets and numbers.

In a meeting at Serena Hotel, Nairobi Friday, the heads of the commissions defended themselves from MPs' attacks saying their stand on various national issues was informed by the Constitution.

“Parliament should not use the budget process to arm-twist constitutional commissions,” Commission for Implementation of the Constitution chairman Charles Nyachae said.

The chairman of the Commission on Administrative Justice Otiende Amollo said: “The constitution requires all commissions to be given adequate budget for their operations.”

“If the allocations are slashed, the commissions will not deliver their mandate to Kenyans. We have constitution safeguards that protect allocations to commissions. The constitution is also very clear on how a commissioner could be removed from office,” Mr Amollo said.

He said it is MPs role to increase or reduce taxes.

Mr Nyachae said CIC commissioners have been “invited” to participate in a parliamentary committee on budget talks on Monday. The CIC budget is to be discussed in the meeting, Mr Nyachae said.

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairman Sarah Serem said the body is open for negotiations with various institutions including Parliament.

She said plans were underway for SRC to discuss with the Parliamentary Service Commission the MPs' salaries.

The SRC has come under intense criticism from MPs for reducing their salaries from Sh851,000 to Sh532,500 and legislators want the old pay reinstated.

On Thursday, the High Court restrained the Parliamentary Service Commission from releasing enhanced pay for MPs.

The legislators will now have to wait until the court determines a petition lodged Thursday afternoon by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).

The lawyers filed an application for a conservatory order and a petition, raising constitutional questions about Parliament’s mandate.

Justice David Majanja ruled that it was necessary to halt payment of the enhanced salaries due to the grave constitutional issues raised by the LSK.

The MPs saga turned nasty on Thursday after legislators threatened to pass laws exempting millions of Kenyans from paying income tax.

They also said they would sack not fewer than 21 members of constitutional commissions and slash their budgets “to help the President and his government reduce the public wage bill and free up resources for development.

Additionally, they would make laws to give themselves power to cut the salaries of state officers by 57 per cent.

In a further measure to torpedo government resources, they threatened to revise Value Added Tax “to make life bearable for Kenyans.”

 

Parliamentarians appeared to be acting in anger after President Uhuru Kenyatta supported the Serem-led Commission for reducing MPs salaries.

On Friday, the commissions supported calls by President Kenyatta for MPs to respect the institutions.

The commissions heads regretted that nasty words were being used against them yet they were just fulfilling their constitutional mandates.