Bloated House set to cost Sh11 billion

The reality of funding two houses of Parliament will begin to be felt next year, with the cost expected to hit the Sh11 billion per year mark on salaries alone.

The projected cost of salaries and running the National Assembly and the Senate will rise from the current Sh6.5 billion, the Parliamentary Service Commission says in estimates tabled in the House on Thursday.

Recurrent expenditure caters for the salaries and allowances for the MPs as well as staff at the National Assembly.

The increased recurrent expenditure will also include “grants and transfers” to enable the new set of legislators buy vehicles and subscribe to parliamentary organisations.

Clerk of the National Assembly Patrick Gichohi has in the past said staff numbers at the National Assembly are expected to double from the current 800.

Development expenditure is also projected to increase after the general election as the taxpayer foots the cost of putting up new buildings to house the offices and members of the two houses of Parliament.

The next Parliament will have 349 members, while the Senate, considered the Upper House, will be composed of 68 representatives from the 47 counties plus representatives of special groups.

The Parliamentary Service Commission, which is headed by Speaker Kenneth Marende plans to spend Sh700 million in the next financial year and Sh2.15 billion in the next, which starts in July next year, to construct new buildings.

It will cost another Sh1.95 billion to construct new buildings in the 2013/2014 financial year.

Parliament projects will need to have 500 new offices to cater for the senators as well as additional offices for the additional 130 MPs.

Of the Sh1.95 billion, Sh600 million is allocated for the construction of an office block for the office of the clerk in the next financial year.

“This is an initial allocation for a project estimated to have a lifespan of over three years. Future allocation will greatly depend on the project’s progress and absorption capacity,” the estimates say.

Refurbishment of buildings in the next financial year is projected to cost Sh1.5 billion, with the cost decreasing slightly in the next financial year to Sh1.04 billion.

There are ongoing works to refurbish the larger chambers while there are also plans to refurbish the Old Chamber, where Parliament is currently sitting.

The refurbishment of the Old Chamber, the estimates say, will be at a cost of Sh805 million, with another Sh22 million to be spent on the purchase of specialised plant, equipment and machinery’ for security.

Parliament also plans to acquire land at a cost of Sh50 million in the next financial year, with the cost increasing to Sh300 million in the next and going down to Sh100 million in the 2014/15 financial year.

The Sh50 million in the next year is earmarked for the acquisition of land for a residence for the speaker of the Senate.

The PSC plans to have the clerk of the Senate housed at Harambee Plaza, where the offices of the Parliamentary Budget Office are located.