Letter sheds light on legislators' pay dispute

President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses MPs and senators during the official opening of the 12th Parliament on September 12, 2017. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The letter was written by former Makadara MP Benson Mutura and was backed by a section of lawmakers.

  • In the review, SRC created a transport allowance paid once a month and based on rates fixed for the distances covered, which were classified into five groups.

  • MPs described mileage reimbursement as extravagant, wasteful, immoral and obscene on the part of MPs.

  • An MP can get at least Sh600,000 in a week which translates to Sh2.4 million a month.

A letter written by MPs in the last Parliament could come back to haunt some of them and bring a twist to the court battle between the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

The letter was written in October 2015 and is seen as having partly informed the decision by SRC to do away with the much-abused system of reimbursing MPs for travelling to their constituencies.

Given the circumstances, the court could be left with the option of determining who between the PSC and the SRC is telling the truth.

The letter was written by former Makadara MP Benson Mutura and was backed by a section of lawmakers.

MPs used to be paid for their weekly travels to their constituencies. The amount used to be calculated based on the distance between Nairobi and the constituency. However, the system had been heavily abused as MPs would file weekly claims whether they had travelled or not.

In the review, SRC created a transport allowance paid once a month and based on rates fixed for the distances covered, which were classified into five groups.

They now range between Sh266,663 for a return journey of 750km and Sh738,833 for more than 1,500km.

MILEAGE REIMBURSMENT

The mileage reimbursement is the core argument of the case filed by PSC against SRC. PSC seeks to quash a gazette notice that stipulates implementation of lawmakers’ pay cut.

In the October 2015 letter, the MPs accused their colleagues of being given a lawful leeway to waste public resources which amounts to a payout of Sh1.8 billion per year.

The letter has names of 40 MPs from the said counties attached to it but is signed by only 16 of them, some of whom did not make it to the 12th Parliament.

“We the undersigned MPs wish to bring to your attention one of the most abused parliamentary privileges that leads to loss of billions of public money every year. Our key concern is the area of mileage,” said the letter addressed to SRC chairperson.

The legislators from the five counties told SRC that the system used in reimbursing MPs was prone to abuse because they were not required to prove whether they travelled to their local constituencies or not but were guaranteed of being reimbursed hefty payments.

They described mileage reimbursement as extravagant, wasteful, immoral and obscene on the part of MPs.

SH600,000

They said an MP can get at least Sh600,000 in a week which translates to Sh2.4 million a month. They complained that besides this huge payout, each MP was entitled to a Sh5 million car grant hence the additional monies were unacceptable.

They also told SRC that countries richer than Kenya had more cost effective and sustainable ways of ensuring their elected members stay in constant touch with their electorate.

The legislators proposed the formulation of a new policy to curb the wastage of public funds and also use of air travel instead of roads. “It has become almost automatic for members to be given their mileage reimbursement on a weekly basis whether they travelled or not. This is also true whether we are in session or on recess,” said the letter.

It added: “It is of utmost importance for the elected leadership of Kenya to lead by example on this issue of reducing the public wage bill so that the citizens can also be supportive of the same hence our suggestions to your office, we should not be seen to be preaching water and drinking wine.”

Those who appended their signatures to the letter were Ms Alice Wahome (Kandara), Mr George Theuri (Embakasi West), Mr Joash Olum (Lang’ata), Mr John Chege (Kasarani), Mr John Ogutu (Embakasi East), Mr Francis Waititu (Juja), Mr Robert Mbui (Kathiani), Mr Cecily Mbarire (Runyenjes), Mr John Kihagi (Naivasha), Mr Isaac Mwaura (nominated), Mr Joseph Kiona (Njoro), Mr Humphrey Njuguna (Gatanga) and Mr Victor Munyaka (Machakos) together with Mr Mutura.

TRUE POSITION

Mr Mutura and activist Okiya Omtatah have asked to join the case as interested parties while accusing PSC of failing to disclose the true position of deliberations in Parliament on the pay cut.

In December last year, High Court judge George Odunga issued a temporary order  stopping the pay cut.

A case touching on the pay cut of governors, MCAs and county executives filed by the county government of Kakamega saw High Court judge Enoch Chacha Mwita on Tuesday temporarily suspend the review.

MCAs have also filed a separate case on the same through the County Assemblies Forum. With the temporary orders in place, the MPs continue getting the hefty pay. SRC has said if the temporary orders in place are not set aside, the hefty payments will be made and may never be recovered.

ANNUAL INCREMENT

SRC has said it justified its proposal on the reviews, a move that later saw PSC agree to it on the basis that the structure gives room for an annual increment.

In the 2013-2017 pay structure, the Speaker of the National Assembly and Senate earned a maximum of Sh1.3 million, the Majority leader Sh1.1 million, Minority leader Sh1 million and MPs as well as senators Sh710,000. Following the review, the Speakers are to earn a monthly gross package of Sh1.2 million, their deputies Sh924,000, both majority and minority leaders Sh765,188 and the MPs Sh621,250.

The review recommended that MPs should not be given car grants since they were already entitled to car loans of Sh7 million.

Other abolished allowances included special parliamentary allowance, sitting allowance for plenary sessions and the one for special responsibility.

Justice Odunga is set to give further directions on January 24 on the cases.