Report recommends Kenya MPs pay raise

A report to review Kenya MPs salaries has been tabled in Parliament and recommends a pay increase for the legislators.

The tribunal appointed by the Parliamentary Service Commission to Review and Make Recommendations on the Terms and Conditions of Service for Members and Staff of the National Assembly pegs the consolidated pay of an MP at Sh1.09m.

According to the report, the Prime Minister will earn Sh2.9m, the Vice President will take home Sh2.19m, while the Speaker is set to get Sh2.1m

The Deputy Prime Minister is expected to earn Sh1.6m while the deputy Speaker will be entitled to Sh1.4m a month.

The remuneration includes salary and allowances.

Taxable

However, some of the allowances including transport, responsibility and entertainment will be taxable.

MPs will debate and then either adopt or reject the recommendations of the report within seven days.

If adopted, the new pay structure will come into effect in the next Parliament, which will seat after the 2012 General Election.

It will see each MP pay Sh227,861 in tax every month. But then their monthly income has increased from Sh851,000 to Sh1,091,000.

This means, they have increased the income to cater for the taxation element, and added Sh12,000 on top every month.

PSC vice chairman Walter Nyambati tabled the report in Parliament with amendments to the current laws, not only to have tax rebates for cash donations made by MPs, but also to specify the allowances that each of the 222MPs are entitled to.

In the Bill  amending the National Assembly Remuneration Act, the PSC proposes a maternity leave allowance of Sh180,000 for every female MP and a paternity leave allowance of Sh30,000 per year for every male MP. The female MPs will be paid their maternity allowance at Sh60,000 per month for a maximum of three months.

Still, the amendment introducing new salaries will have to be backdated to May 2008 when the Prime Minister and his two deputies, were sworn into office.

The Bill also seeks to quash the Sh1.5 million for the five years –Sh300,000 for every year worked—to 20 per cent of the basic salary allowance for every year worked. This means, that an MP will get Sh720,000 as “severance allowance” for every year worked.

Coming at the end of five years, this is Sh3.6 million just for being an MP. This has been doubled and Sh400,000 added.

The amount will vary because of differences in the responsibility allowances  allocated to the other office holders in Parliament like the Speaker (Sh1.2 million for every year worked—Sh6 million after five years), Prime Minister, Vice President and Leader of Government and the Leader of Government Business (Sh840,000 for every year worked—Sh4.2 million after five years).

Currently, an MP takes home a total of Sh851,000 per month.

The tribunal was chaired by retired Court of Appeal Judge Akilano Akiwumi.