Outrage over Sh2.1b payout plan for Kenya MPs
Kenyan MPs will pocket Sh2.1 billion if elections are held in August next year.
The payout, described as “immoral” by the Law Society of Kenya, will be compensation for having their terms, in the view of some, cut short.
Each MP will be paid Sh8 million for each of the eight months they will be asked to “forfeit” if the election is held in August as stipulated in the Constitution, as well as the Sh1.5m “winding up allowance” they voted themselves.
Interestingly, in supporting the announcement by secretary for National Cohesion Michael Ndung’u, Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo gives MPs a powerful incentive to reject the Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill, which he wants to introduce to the House proposing to move the date of the election. (READ: Mutula urges House to back poll date Bill)
But the suggestion was greeted with disgust by the Federation of Kenya Employers and the Law Society of Kenya who dismissed it as a ploy by MPs to have the public foot the bill for their re-election campaigns.
Mr Kilonzo, joined by Mr Ndung’u, said that to hold the election as provided for in the Constitution will have a major impact on public resources.
The minister asked MPs opposed to the Bill to understand the challenges the country faces “if my Bill is arbitrarily and casually treated”.
If the next election is conducted properly, the impact on the country will last for many years, he warned. He was speaking at the launch of a training manual on national cohesion and integration.
Mr Kilonzo has sworn to present his Bill to the House despite the opposition of a section of MPs.
Speaker Kenneth Marende ruled that it is lawful for the minister to introduce the Bill, but unusually allowed MPs to continue contributing and said he would give further directions on Thursday.
The Bill wants the election date changed to the third Monday of December every five years; proposes a formula that will ensure gender parity in elective posts in addition to laying down the principles on the delimitation of new boundaries. (READ: Kenya faces uphill task in amending Constitution)
Lives lost
“I don’t think there is any currency that has ever been printed since the Pharaohs that can buy back the experience Kenya has had since the beginning of 2008,” Mr Kilonzo said.
“You cannot bring back the people who died, you will not be able to satisfy the refugees still in Uganda, you will not be able any time soon to solve the problems of IDP families.
“It is for this reason that I remain so emphatic that the next elections must be done when we are ready and good for them,” he added.
Mr Ndung’u cautioned that the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission could also run into trouble if forced to use direct procurement for a printer for the election materials due to time constraints.
“I wish to mention that in case we do hold elections earlier than December, the public will lose funds to pay off MPs for the months they will have forfeited,” Mr Ndung’u said.
The MPs are understood to be quietly supportive of the hefty pay package because in their view, their contracts will have been cut short before the completion of their five-year term.
The proposed amount is the total salary for the eight months to the expiry of the MPs’ five-year term after Parliament is dissolved.
The Constitution provides in the transitional clauses that Parliament should serve its full term which, by some calculations, ends on January 15, 2013, exactly five years after MPs were sworn in.
