National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi at the weekend talked of the need of government institutions to do some soul-searching before rushing to courts to sue other government institutions.
This was in reference to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission which has gone to court to stop the Parliamentary Service Commission from continuing to illegally award members of Parliament a monthly housing allowance of Sh250,000 each.
The SRC is the institution that sets remuneration of public servants using a certified formula to arrive at the pay and perks of public service cadres.
Muturi chairs the PSC which, under his watch, has routinely found opportunity after another to increase perks for legislators as the majority of Kenyans wallow in poverty.
Speaker Muturi spoke in his Mbeere backyard at a function attended by poverty-stricken wananchi. He arrived guarded, and in a chauffer-driven government-provided fuel guzzler.
By awarding themselves the Sh250,000 allowance backdated to October last year in total disregard of SRC, legislators overreached themselves. They doubly compensated themselves since their basic pay incorporates housing costs.
It was logical for the SRC to challenge the MPs’ greed for cash in court. Muturi has no moral authority to talk about soul-searching when the institution heads has never hidden its unsatiated appetite for public money and resources.
