Legislators on course to get more perks as bill sails through

Members of Parliament on Tuesday voted to approve the Parliamentary Service Bill 2018 during its second reading, the penultimate stage to awarding themselves hefty perks.

After the conclusion of debate on the bill, Eldas MP Adan Keynan urged colleagues to ensure it sails through since “Parliament is the first arm of government”.

Adding that MPs were not proposing salary increases for themselves “as reported by the media”, Mr Keynan wrapped up his presentation by saying “lawmakers have no apologies to make”.

The bill is now set for the third reading, clause by clause, when amendments will be introduced, although the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has expressed fears that enacting the bill will see other State and public officers also demand more benefits. (See story on judges, facing page).

PROPOSAL

Although the President usually assents to a bill for it to become law, the Constitution allows a popular proposal to become law even without his signature.

The bill seeks to give the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) powers to determine the perks of the 416 members of the National Assembly and the Senate, as well as their two Speakers.

A gap in Kenyan law has allowed MPs to continue dictating their terms of service even after the SRC was formed, in the spirit of the 2010 Constitution, to help rationalise pay in the public sector and cut the public wage bill.

The SRC is designed to be independent and set the salaries of State officers and public servants, including MPs. However, it has to curry favour with the legislators, on whose goodwill it relies for budgetary allocations as well as approval of the appointment of commissioners.

REDUCE ALLOWANCES

Such was the horse-trading in 2013 when SRC sought to reduce the salaries of MPs to Sh532,500 a month, including allowances. The body also sought to limit committee sittings but the clout of MPs prevailed to have the salary capped at Sh710,000 without any restrictions on committee sittings and allowances. Last year, ahead of the General Elections, SRC reduced the basic salary to Sh621,250, withdrew transport allowances, put a ceiling on mileage claims, and abolished annual pay increases

While the Sh1.2 million-a-month salary for an MP in Kenya, inclusive of allowances, appears comparable to that in other developing countries like Ghana and India, exorbitant benefits make the overall compensation in Kenya higher than that in bigger economies like the United Kingdom (Sh1 million) and South Africa (Sh1.1 million).

BASIC PAY

The allowances in Kenya, multiple sources indicate, are higher than the basic pay. They include a Sh7 million car loan, business class travel, car maintenance, a Sh20 million mortgage, untaxed pension, a gratuity at almost a third of annual pay for every year served, and medical cover of more than Sh10 million per year, restricted to one spouse and four children.

It is these allowances they want enhanced further so that a legislator gets an official residence or house allowance in addition to the mortgage, and an official car in addition to the car loan.

On medical insurance, they want the scope expanded to cover more than one spouse and more than four children. Ordinary covers require members to top up premiums if they want the number of beneficiaries or coverage to increase.

FOUR CHILDREN

The SRC salary scheme for government employees limits insurance cover for State and public officials to one spouse and four children below 25 years, who must be in school.

The lawmakers’ medical scheme provides a Sh10 million inpatient cover per family, Sh300,000 for outpatient cover, Sh150,000 for maternity, and Sh75,000 for dental care.

According to the Auditor-General and a 2012 UN report on parliaments, the Kenyan legislature consumes one in every 50 shillings of public expenditure, compared to 57 cents for countries with a population of between 10 million and 50 million.

The audit found that Sh13.5 million was required to sustain an MP in 2012, compared to Sh21 million last year, laying bare the ineffectiveness of the SRC in taming MPs’ self-indulgence.

MPs argue that the SRC is a constitutional commission, just like PSC, and should therefore have no role in determining their benefits.

According to the SRC gazette notice of July 2017, MPs are entitled to a monthly salary of Sh1.2 million, inclusive of allowances.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Fiscal experts argue that the new amendments to the bill ought to have been subjected to public participation involving the National Treasury and the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the National Assembly, among others, to gauge whether the demands are feasible.

The house allowance being sought is on top of the Sh20 million mortgage facility that each MPs gets, and which is subject to an interest rate of three percent per annum that must be fully paid by the end of the five-year term.

They also want government-maintained-and-fuelled cars and car loans on top of their mileage allowances and their Sh7 million car grants. MPs argue this will put them at par with judges and Cabinet secretaries.