Politics and policy
Senators during a recent session. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE
By EDWIN MUTAI, emutai@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- Taxpayers will fork out additional Sh1.53 billion annually to pamper the 67 legislators with a wide range of privileges, including the purchase of a four-wheel-drive stationed at the county office.
- Besides, each of the 47 elected senators will earn a monthly county allowance of Sh500,000, costing the taxpayer Sh282 million annually.
- The legislators will also be paid Sh780,000 in monthly allocation for personnel emoluments besides an additional mark up of 10 per cent per constituency to counties with more than four constituencies.
The cost of Kenya’s over-representative democracy
could rise by more than Sh1 billion if the Parliamentary Service
Commission (PSC) approves a new set of demands by the country’s 67
senators.
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Taxpayers will fork out additional Sh1.53 billion annually
to pamper the 67 legislators with a wide range of privileges, including
the purchase of a four-wheel-drive stationed at the county office.
The PSC, chaired by National Assembly Speaker
Justin Muturi, is set to meet Wednesday morning to consider the raft of
demands contained in a Senate-backed document that is laden with
enhanced perks for its members.
The Senate Tuesday gave the document the green light at an informal meeting chaired by its Speaker Ekwee Ethuro.
The document is the product of a nine-member task force that was appointed on April 25 to look into the welfare of the senators.
The team has recommended hefty pay perks for
senators that includes a county office allocation complete with
provisions for staffing, salaries and remuneration, car grants and
monthly allowances.
If the proposals of the Senate deputy speaker Kembi
Gitura-led task force are adopted, each of the 67 senators will be
entitled to Sh2.4 million for the purchase of furniture at the
commencement of each term of Parliament, setting the taxpayer some Sh160
million back.
Besides, each of the 47 elected senators will earn a
monthly county allowance of Sh500,000, costing the taxpayer Sh282
million annually.
Personnel emoluments
The legislators will also be paid Sh780,000 in
monthly allocation for personnel emoluments besides an additional mark
up of 10 per cent per constituency to counties with more than four
constituencies.
That means the senators will take home some Sh627.1
million annually for personnel emoluments and another Sh44 million in
additional mark up to the 47 elected senators.
The Gitura-led team also wants senators to be
allocated Sh420,000 per month for consumables and office operations or a
total of Sh337.7 million annually.
The task force has also made provision for each
senator to get a monthly allocation for rent (in case of a county or
constituency office in Nairobi, Mombasa or Kisumu Sh168,000) and in
respect of a county or constituency office in all other areas Sh140,000.
Members of the task force included Majority Leader
Kithure Kindiki, Minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula, Majority Whip
Beatrice Elachi and Minority Deputy Whip Janet Ong’era. Others were
Billow Kerrow, George Khaniri, Paul Wamatangi and Boniface Lenairoshi.
The team wants each of the 47 counties to be
provided with a four-wheel-drive vehicle not exceeding 3000 cc stationed
at county offices.
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