Uhuru sticks to his guns in MP salaries tussle

• Finance minister has confided to aides that MPs won’t raise their pay on his watch

The Treasury is digging in for a fight with MPs pushing to have the government implement the proposals of a salary review commission to award them a hefty pay rise.

Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta has told his confidants that he is determined to block the proposed pay increment, which has sparked public outrage.

A person close to the minister said on Saturday that Treasury was confident the MPs would not succeed in sabotaging the government as they have threatened.

The deputy Prime Minister is said to have indicated that the MPs would not raise their salaries “under his watch” at the Treasury.

“He has told us that he would rather be pushed out than pay,” the aide said.

Mr Kenyatta feels he has enough money to run the government until December since Parliament already approved half of this year’s budget, said the source.

“The minister is putting his foot down because frustrating the remaining budget debate would only work against the MPs since money needed to run CDF projects will not be available. This will infuriate the public even more,” said Mr Kenyatta’s confidant who did not wish to be named since he is not the minister’s spokesperson.

Mr Kenyatta is also said to have confided to his allies that he will not bring the Bills required to legalise the proposed pay to the House.

A source close to the minister says that it is up to the MPs to convince President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to consent to the Bills after which Mr Kenyatta can table them.

“The minister cannot bring in money Bills to the House unless he has authority to table them from the two principals,” said the aide.

Expressed reservations

Already, Mr Odinga has expressed reservations about the proposal despite being a major beneficiary. His monthly salary would rise to close to Sh3 million if the proposals are implemented.

The PM recently said that it was unfair for the MPs to increase their pay at a time when Kenya’s economy had not yet recovered.

“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,” Mr Odinga was reported saying last Sunday.

For his part, Mr Kenyatta has told his associates that he will not bulge even if he is faced with a censure motion in Parliament.

Many MPs, however, believe that nothing will stop them from getting the proposed hefty perks before the August 4 referendum.

Their game plan is straightforward: Shoot down all government motions, Bills and policy papers, including the Finance Bill and the Appropriations Bill.

As a result, the government will be starved of money such that unless and until the new pay package is legalised they will cripple government activities.

They are also threatening to quietly campaign against the proposed constitution if they don’t get the pay rise.

A first-time MP said when the lawmakers rejected the 179 amendments to the proposed constitution “we didn’t know we’ll pay a total tax of up to Sh283,000”.

But on Saturday, Narc Kenya chairperson Martha Karua accused MPs of being in the habit of awarding themselves high salaries at the expense of taxpayers. Ms Karua, also the Gichugu MP, urged Kenyans to vote for the proposed constitution to end the trend.

Ms Karua was speaking in Kirinyaga district where she and Mathioya MP Clement Wambugu campaigned for the proposed constitution.

Speaking at Makutano, Kimbimbi, Kianyaga, Kiamutugu and Kutus towns, Ms Karua said the new constitution would liberate Kenyans from oppression and ensure equitable distribution of resources.

Trump card

The trump card for the lawmakers could be played on the August 31 deadline for approving the Appropriations Bill to allow the government to legally draw money from its coffers.

However, the MPs are caught between a rock and a hard place. While they don’t want to antagonise the public by appearing not to want to pay tax, they are worried about losing Sh231,000 of their current income if the proposed constitution becomes law.

“Most of us have committed our income until June 2012. It’s not a bad thing to use your pay. The problem comes when suddenly you want to cut our income for the next two years. How will we clear our debts?” asked Gwassi MP John Mbadi.

With revelations that 29 MPs have their pay slips showing a net income of below Sh10,000 and that another 81 take home less than Sh100,000, they are unlikely to relent in their onslaught on the Treasury.

An MP’s current salary is Sh851,000 minus sitting and travel allowances.

They pay a tax of Sh54,000 on their basic salary.

Like most of his colleagues who spoke to the Sunday Nation Chris Okemo, a former Finance minister, argued that the effect of the raise they are seeking on the Exchequer will be “very minimal”.

Additional reporting by George Munene