• Good as it may be, BBI proposed an increase in parliamentary representation while it touched little on the MPs’ pay, which is already a load on the taxpayers.
• With the increase on the parliamentarians, the ever rising wage bill was not addressed in the document.
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Being a political tool, there is no contestation that BBI will define Kenya’s socioeconomic and geopolitical space. This makes it a document of interest, especially at such a time when the court has stamped its authority and stopped any deliberations and actions towards its enactment before presenting it to a referendum.
The temporary stoppage by the court grants us a window to discuss issues that are dear to the wellbeing of our society. One such issue is the wage bill to which the drafters of the document turned a blind eye on.
It is the reason over representation will remain an issue to be looked into, especially now that parliamentarians are set to increase in number. The MPs’ remuneration is an issue that should be put right in leadership parlance if the wage bill was to be proportionately restructured and reduced.
Good as it may be, BBI proposed an increase in parliamentary representation while it touched little on the MPs’ pay, which is already a load on the taxpayers.
With the increase on the parliamentarians, the ever rising wage bill was not addressed in the document. At least their pay should have been pegged at maximum Sh400,000 per month. From an average monthly salary of Sh1.1 million, the government would save Sh800,000 per month. For the proposed 456 MPs, the Exchequer will save Sh36.48 million per month.
It should also be clarified to the MPs that the electorate does not need their money but proper laws that would free them from poverty.
I would, thus, urge Kenyans of good will to join me in clarion call to PSC so that this is legislated upon. It would help save money for other more offices that the BBI creates.
Prestigious as its norm, leadership comes with responsibilities that call for – above all – self-denial and tolerance. This has deterred some people of noble comportment who may feel disenfranchised to occupy leadership; not because of their incompetency, but a feeling of inadequacy of not being equal to the task of service to man. This is because the core and overriding virtue for leadership in any carder is humility.
Humility being elusive in many characters, one would rather be led than lead. Ironically, in the eyes of a Kenyan MP, getting to public office is a ticket to ascendency to power and a means in itself to a fat pay and amassing wealth; wealth whose source remains mysterious even to the MPs’ own estimations.
Our MPs' flamboyance is the yardstick of reaffirming their presence. This kind of deliberate extravagance engenders a legion of feelings that ours are MPs whose call to leadership is defined by the style and pomposity but not a call to servant leadership.
This hurts the morale and acuity of the citizenry bearing the never ending corrupt implications levelled towards MPs. Most of them seem to have formed a neat clique of fender-benders who often leave holes on the public coffers with such aplomb that they enjoy at the chagrin of taxpayers who heave under the weight of taxation that they have been subjected to as a subsequent of this malfeasance act.
An MP seat in Kenya should be made more unattractive so that only those with the true call to serve in leadership can book their seats in the honourable House.