MPs yesterday made the clearest statement yet that the economic plight of the common citizen does not bother them at all.
In their stubborn resolve to make themselves multimillionaires. yet they represent some of the poorest people in the world, they made the second major step to achieve their dreams by approving the hefty cash proposals in the Parliamentary Service Bill, 2018, for the second time.
They have only one stage — the third reading — after which their money will be as good as in the bank, public outcry or none.
Eldas MP Adan Keynan argued that they have over the years been undermined. The lawmaker, also a member of the Parliamentary Service Commission, said they have been exposed to persistent criticism for fighting for their space as state officers.
“Parliament is the first arm of government. We are not proposing for salary increment for ourselves as reported by the media. We have been called dimwits, but nothing has changed. We have no apologies to make,” Keynan said amid cheers from his colleagues.
“Are we lesser state officers? Why are we being abused? Why are our rights being denied? We want to be number seven in the list of state officers. We’ll serve you as your commission. I took an oath office to really support you and we need to serve as members with a dignified manner as stipulated in the Constitution.”
Last Thursday, National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale said their push for car grants, house allowances and mileage should be anchored in the bill to be fully funded by the PSC.
“We draw our powers from the people of Kenya. We must anchor this issue of car grants in law so nobody can question it. Our house allowance question must be resolved,” he said.
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The Garissa Township MP said the parliamentary leadership will retreat to propose necessary amendments.
“This bill touches directly on the wellbeing of members of this House. It’s very important and should not be trivialised,” he said.
Clause 33 of the Bill states: “The employees of the commission shall be paid such remuneration and allowances as shall be determined by the commission.”
“The terms and conditions of employees of the commission shall be reviewed every three years or within such a shorter period as the commission may determine.”
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission has protested the move. During a public participation exercise conducted by the National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs committee, it said its advisory role to the government on remuneration of public officers was being usurped.
“This clause needs to be amended to take into account Article 230( 4 ) and the SRC Act on the advisory role of the SRC and the responsibility of determining the review cycle for terms and conditions of employees in the public sector as per the SRC Act No. 10 of 2011,” SRC secretary Anne Gitau said in a memorandum to the Justice and Legal Affairs committee.
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