Prime minister without a salary

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has worked for nine months without pay following a dispute in top government administrative circles over his salary scale, the Nation can reveal.

The embarrassing situation is also being blamed on failure by MPs to give direction on the trappings of the Prime Minister’s office, which was created at the formation of the grand coalition government last year.

According to correspondence seen by the Nation, the controversy over Mr Odinga’s salary revolves around two schools of thought in government — one which recommends that his pay should be equal to that of Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, and another which proposes that the PM’s pay be pegged on the President’s.

In the meantime, Mr Odinga has for close to a year been paid as Lang’ata Member of Parliament and drawn allowances of a Cabinet minister.

A letter dated September 29, 2008 from the Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet, Mr Francis Muthaura, to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Patrick Gichohi, says that the Government had decided to pay higher salaries to the Prime Minister, Vice-President and the two deputy prime ministers.

Mr Muthaura says that this was to ensure that the overall salaries for the VP, PM and deputy PMs are within the range of packages paid to some chief executives of government agencies while maintaining relativity to that of the President.

President Kibaki earns a Sh2 million basic salary a month and also draws Sh1.2 million monthly in extraneous and entertainment allowances, according to Mr Muthaura.

“It is, however, to be noted that the President does not draw any remuneration from Parliament since he is a constitutional office holder while the vice-president, prime minister and the deputy prime ministers draw various allowances from Parliament,” Mr Muthaura says.

The President’s pay is drawn from the Consolidated Fund. The VP, PM and his deputies receive salaries and allowances from Parliament totalling about Sh800, 000. In addition, as ministers, they receive Sh200,000 ministerial allowance, Sh100, 000 house allowance and Sh23,400 domestic allowance.

Same letter

It is in the same letter that Mr Muthaura directs that Mr Odinga’s salary be equal to that of Mr Musyoka.

Mr Muthaura proposes that the PM’s and VP’s salary be Sh1.3 million — Sh800, 000 salary, Sh300,000 ministerial allowance and Sh200, 000 as house allowance.

He proposes that deputy prime ministers Musalia Mudavadi and Uhuru Kenyatta get Sh950, 000 which is broken down into Sh500, 000 salary, Sh250, 000 ministerial allowance, Sh150, 000 house allowance and Sh50,000 domestic staff allowance.

Earlier, the permanent secretary in the Prime Minister’s office, Dr Mohamed Isahakia, had written to the Clerk of the National Assembly complaining that it was unfair for Mr Odinga to perform his official duties without pay. Sources said Dr Isahakia asked that the issue of the PM’s pay be discussed, determined and that his salary be paid to him urgently.

Last week, the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) met to deliberate on the issue and it was then that Mr Muthaura’s letter was produced.
Some of Mr Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) MPs in the PSC were incensed by Mr Muthaura’s proposal to equate the Prime Minister office with that of the Vice-President.

Sources said the MPs want the Prime Minister’s salary to be above that of the VP considering that he was an equal partner with President Kibaki as far as the National Accord and Reconciliation Act that created the PM’s office was concerned.

The same sentiments were expressed in Dr Isahakia’s letter to the Clerk. However, an MP who did not wish to be quoted discussing PSC matters outside the committee asked why ODM members in the PSC had not brought the matter before Parliament in order to resolve it through the ballot rather than through administrative channels.

The National Accord and Reconciliation Act, which was signed on February 28, 2008 states that the PM and his deputies shall be entitled to salaries and allowances, benefits, privileges and emoluments as may be approved by Parliament from time to time.