Raila criticises pay increase for MPs

Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Sunday said it was unfair for the MPs to increase their pay at a time when Kenya's economy had not yet recovered.

“I am totally against the idea of MPs increasing their salaries arbitrarily,” said the PM in his first news conference after being discharged from the hospital.

“My position is very clear… I don’t think the move is right or fair. It is sending wrong signals to the people of this country.”

The new perks were recommended by a tribunal chaired by retired judge Akilano Akiwumi, reviewing the salaries and terms of MPs.

According to the recommendations, an ordinary MP was to take home Sh1.2 million in basic salary and allowances, up from Sh851,000.

The salary of the prime minister was also raised to Sh3,246,000 per month, with the vice president earning Sh2,796,000, the Speaker Sh2,766,000, his deputy Sh1,841,000 and the two deputy prime ministers Sh1,891,000 each per month.

President Kibaki will on Tuesday chair a special Cabinet meeting to discuss the matter, with sources indicating they are likely to reject the pay increase.

On Sunday, Mr Odinga said members of the Akiwumi commission had failed to carry out its mandate as required. “The recommendations of the Akiwumi commission were not meant for this parliament but the future,” he said.

The ‘Yes’ team also vowed to rally behind Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta in opposing the MPs salary increase.

MPs Kabando wa Kabando and Eugene Wamalwa on Sunday led the opposition to the pay rise, terming it “ill-timed and insensitive to the mood of the country”. The MPs said they would lead a campaign to shoot down the proposals in the House on Tuesday.

And speaking in Runyenjes, Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta said he awaited an epic battle in Parliament from his colleagues but maintained that there was no cash to fund the mammoth pay increases.

Elsewhere, the outlawed Mungiki sect also condemned the lawmakers over the salary increment. Mr Stanley Chege, leader of the Kenya National Youth Alliance, also said the group was seeking an alliance for a national strike to call for the parliamentarians to go home.

Stories by Dave Opiyo, John Njagi and Eric Mutai