In September, our pampered MPs shed crocodile tears pretending they understood the financial hell Kenyans faced with the introduction of the eight per cent VAT on fuel.
To make their ruse persuasive, they conjured up a heated session in Parliament with strident calls for President Uhuru Kenyatta to drop the new taxation measures — it would hurt the ordinary Kenyan, who they deeply care about and spend sleepless nights trying to help.
Nothing exposes their empty frenzied VAT campaign than their current shameless and dishonest ploy to raise their perks.
The Parliamentary Service Bill 2018 (to be approved tomorrow) is the clearest reminder yet, that MPs capacity to suck the blood of the long-suffering taxpayer is so entrenched they consider it a birthright. None of the 416 senators and MPs have opposed the bill.
They have ignored the advise of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, which has maintained that MPs do not need a second car paid for, serviced and fuelled by the taxpayer. They already enjoy the cheapest mortgage in the market at a paltry three per cent. They still want a house allowance.
We appeal to MPs to reign in their insatiable craving to live like royalty in a country where half the population lives below the poverty line.