Sarah Serem team sued in pay row with MPs

SRC Chairperson Sarah Serem. MPs have accused her commission of encroaching on the constitutional mandate of PSC and seeking to cripple the functioning of the Twelfth Parliament. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • PSC said the car grant was a facilitative allowance previously given to State officers serving in Parliament.

  • Lawyer George Miyare said giving the allowance was cheaper than providing and maintaining official cars for MPs.

  • PSC wants to be allowed to institute a case with a view to quashing the Gazette notice or its immediate suspension.

The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) has gone to court seeking to quash a Gazette notice that reduced the members’ sitting allowances among other benefits.

In a petition filed before the High Court, MPs accuse the Sarah Serem-led Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) of encroaching on the constitutional mandate of PSC and seeking to cripple the functioning of the Twelfth Parliament.

The Gazette notice was published on July 7 and, among other things, abolished the car grant, reduced the number of sitting allowances for plenary sessions as well as sitting allowances for committee meetings to 16 per month and also abolished reimbursable mileage allowance.

Through lawyer George Miyare, PSC said the car grant was a facilitative allowance previously given to State officers serving in Parliament.

He said giving the allowance was cheaper than providing and maintaining official cars for MPs due to distance and the rugged terrain they cover as they travel to and from their constituencies and Nairobi.

INDEPENDENCE

On committee meetings, Mr Miyare said the move was tantamount to trespassing on Parliament’s independence and its constitutional mandate as it sought to limit its free operations.

The medical ex-gratia assistance to MPs and their families, he said, was the best practice where an employer assisted an employee who had exceeded their medical cover entitlement.

PSC wants to be allowed to institute a case with a view to quashing the Gazette notice or its immediate suspension.

“That SRC encroached on the constitutional mandate and responsibilities of the PSC, which is to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of Parliament and to perform other functions necessary for the well-being of the members and staff of Parliament,” read part of the petition.

PSC argued the decision was unreasonable because SRC ignored relevant considerations and the law and that it was discriminatory and malicious as it went against the legitimate expectations of the MPs.

ILLEGAL

Mr Miyare termed the move illegal, saying no job evaluation and market survey was carried out by SRC before the review. He added that SRC failed to take into account the relevant factors it was obligated by law to consider, among them the legal and economic environment.

He said fixing the substantive and accommodation allowance provided to MPs to facilitate them when they travel on official duty outside their two duty stations – at the constituency and Parliament – squarely falls on the mandate of PSC.

Further, the lawyer termed the review unfair and motivated by bad faith because it was undertaken when MPs had already undergone political party nominations and were in the middle of political campaigns, during which they believed that the existing terms would prevail.

The petition also stated that SRC has increased the remuneration payable to the Deputy Speaker above that payable to the Leader of Majority in contravention of the law.