Marende defends MPs on salary rise
Speaker Kenneth Marende said that even as people look up to leaders, they must also contribute to the development of the country. Photo/FILE
House Speaker Kenneth Marende has supported the MPs’ move to raise their pay, saying he envisioned a Kenya in which everyone was “properly” paid.
Speaking on Sunday at the Nairobi Pentecostal Church, Valley Road, Mr Marende insisted that MPs had not raised their pay yet, “but were in the process of doing so”. “I envision a Kenya where the priest, teachers and the police will be properly remunerated; not just the politician,” he said.
The Speaker added that even as people look up to leaders, they must also contribute to the development of the country. “Ask yourself: Is your contribution impunity? Corruption? Ethnicity? Let’s support each other,” said Mr Marende.
On June 30, MPs voted to increase their pay from Sh850,000 to Sh1.2 million a month. Mr Marende spoke after receiving an honorary doctorate in humanities from a US-based theological college for his leadership in Parliament.
At the same time, former Starehe MP Maina Kamanda asked MPs not to support the proposed pay increase, adding that it was portraying a “bad image” to the public.
“While a citizen is struggling to earn Sh50 daily, an MP is not even ashamed to increase his salary to Sh1.2 million!” he said. He was speaking at St John and Paul Catholic Church, where he was the chief guest at a fundraising function.
Elsewhere, civil servants have threatened to go on strike if the government approves the pay rise which MPs awarded themselves.
Officials of the Union of Kenya Civil Servants on Sunday said they would lead their 130,000 members to compel the government to honour the pay rise deal it signed with the union. The increase was shelved last year due to the effects of the 2008 post-election violence on the economy.
The officials – led by the union’s national chairman, Mr Zakayo Chepkonga, first vice-chairman John Nzau and first deputy secretary-general Benson Ambuni – also said that the union would withdrawal its support for the proposed constitution if the government fails to implement their salary increase.
They issued the threats while addressing workers in Nakuru and Koibatek districts.
Reported by Alphonce Shiundu, Emma Cherop and Francis Mureithi
