How Kenyan MPs are looting the economy

On Thursday, 6^th March 2003, Kenyan MPs passed a motion in Parliament raising their basic salaries and other allowances, a move that continue to be opposed by all Kenyans who are concerned at the outright theft of public funds by individuals who are supposed to control spending of State funds in the public interest. What was more annoying was that the bill in Parliament increasing the 222 MPs pay was the first item the MPs tackled after the new government was elected on a “popular wave” to correct the wrongs of the former dictatorship of Daniel arap Moi. Worse still, the huge perks came at a time when Kenya’s budget deficit stood at Ksh 65 billion and as the new government engaged the IMF and World Bank to release aid totalling to Ksh 300 billion. The following is a summary of how Kenyan MPs are looting the country’s economy. As MPs make their contributions in shattering the economy, the ruling Narc government is telling Kenyans that it is trying to turn the economy around by creative a conducive environment where foreign investors can bring business that will make the economy to thrive.

1. Basic salary: Ksh 495,000, up from Ksh 395,000.

2. Monthly housing allowance: Ksh 70,000. Every MP is also entitled to a Ksh 8 million for the purchase of a residential house. The argument is that an MP ia a very important person representing thousand of people in Parliament and should therefore live in a decent house.

3. Car grant: Ksh 3.3 million.

4. Monthly car allowance: Ksh 75,000. This is to fuel the car and help with running expenses.

5. Winding up allowance: Ksh 300,000. This is money given to every MP to “round off the year” after every year. For the five years an MP sits in Parliament, he/she scoops a clean Ksh 1.5 million from the tax payer.

6. Monthly entertainment allowance: Ksh 60,000. This money is to enable MPs entertain guests by buying them food, drinks, and other luxuries as he goes cruising around the country “in the interest of constituents”.   

7. Monthly extraneous allowance: Ksh 30,000. This money is to enable the MP  take care of “unexpected expenses” in the line of duty.

8. Sitting allowance: Ksh 3,000 per sitting. The assembly sits four times a week and this brings the amount to Ksh 12,000 a month or Ksh 48,000 per year.

9. Monthly constituency allowance: Ksh 1.6 million. The MPs voted for an annual Constituency allowance of Ksh 20 million which was passed without much opposition. The MP has a free hand in the spending of this money through a hand picked Committee drawn from sycophants and other loyalists trailing his/her convoy.

The President earns Ksh 2 million and has an entertainment allowance of Ksh 200,000. Despite opposition from Kenyans, the salaries and allowances are active today. Every member of Parliament therefore has an opportunity of becoming a millionaire while their constituents have nothing to eat and as workers who pay  taxes the MPs are looting are living on starvation wages. Because of this open theft of public funds, KSDA is calling for a change of the system to that which will remove privileges for Parliamentarians by reducing MP salaries to that of a skilled worker. Politics is not business and there is no justification whatsoever for the hefty salaries and allowances when the President himself has said that the government is broke and when the regime is openly begging money from the West to finance public programs.  

We say: -Reduce MPs salaries to that of a skilled worker -No privileges for sitting MPs. Privileges widens the gap between the rich and the poor while it also corrupts! -Establish a minimum living wage commensurate with the current rate of inflation for all workers in Kenya.  -Stop using taxpayers’ money to finance the lavish lifestyles of politicians. -Abolish capitalism in Kenya, a system built on exploitation of the poor, privileges for the rich and use of Parliament to create millionaire MPs at the expense of the poor!