Defiant Kenya MPs stay put to demand more pay

Anger against the push by MPs to increase their pay was on Thursday written on the faces of these Kenyans demonstrating outside Parliament.

But inside the Chamber, the people’s representatives were unmoved in their resolve for more pay and refused to adjourn until the extra money was in their pockets.

MPs, with the apparent support of the front bench, refused to second an adjournment motion moved by Government joint Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo to pave way for the break until August 10.

The MPs are rushing to increase their salaries ahead of the August 4 vote for the proposed constitution which will remove their power to set their own pay.

Mr Midiwo was a lonely man on the front bench and even after putting up a spirited defence on why the income of MPs had to be increased before they are taxed, none of those in the House seconded his motion.

Consequently, Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim declared the motion “lost” meaning the break will have to wait. Parliament will, as usual, sit on Tuesday.

The grounds for the defeat of the adjournment motion have been in the works for the past fortnight and came to the fore on Thursday morning at an informal meeting called by House Speaker Kenneth Marende in Parliament’s Old Chamber.

Although the front bench had attended the kamukunji (informal meeting) which ended just 30 minutes to the start of the formal House sitting, the ministers and their assistants kept off Parliament.

Drop demands

Thursday’s kamukunji was the second within 10 days of Parliament’s approval of the report seeking to raise their income first, and then have it taxed. They want to earn Sh1.1 million from about Sh800,000, for them to pay Sh227,000 in taxes.

Several MPs who spoke to the Nation after the meeting, both on and off-the-record, said Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta delivered President Kibaki’s message that the politicians ought to drop their demands because the government had no money.

It said that the President sent Mr Kenyatta to tell the MPs that raising their perks at the moment will also trigger fresh demands for more money by other civil servants.

Nurses, teachers, police and other civil servants have been clamouring for more pay, but only the police got an increase, but this too has been staggered over three years.

The MPs then told Mr Kenyatta that they won’t mind paying tax once the proposed law comes into effect. But, they’ll only do so if their take-home remains the same.

“We don’t want even a shilling of the government’s money. All we want is that even with the taxes, no one should reduce our salaries,” said Mr John Mbadi (Gwassi, ODM).

Mr Kenyatta was joined by Attorney General Amos Wako in trying to convince the MPs that their taxes won’t be touched until after 2012 when the life of the current Parliament expires.

The AG is said to have told the MPs that they were protected under the chapter on Legislature. But the MPs rejected the explanation saying the chapter on Public Finance in the proposed law was explicit — that all public officers will pay tax on their income.

They told Mr Wako that in the transition clauses, there was also the order that any law which contradicts the proposed law will have to be thrown out to the extent of the inconsistency.

The hostile MPs told Mr Wako and Mr Kenyatta that they would not relax their onslaught on the government coffers.