Kenyan MPs Pay/ Salary
Legislators both in the national assembly and senate are set to reward themselves with hefty pay as they conclude their five-year term.
Hard to get
The higher the risk, the bigger the profit margins. Being a legislator in Kenya is a tricky job, as one is never sure to be in the office for more than the next few years. Worse still, getting a political office is an expensive affair. But the good news is that whoever clinches a political office is assured of evading poverty for the rest of his life.
Serving, MPs are exposed to hundreds of millions in the CDF kitty that they oversee. Again, they earn a hefty legitimate salary spiced up with a seating allowance and a committee allowance. They are also entitled to a Ksh 5 million car grant. On top of that, they are also entitled to an Sh20 million mortgage and an Sh7 million car loan.
Compensation policy
The SRC gazetted a compensation policy for MPs a decade ago, requiring gratuity benefits to be calculated at a ratio of 31% of the annual basic salary, with the money to be issued at the end of their five-year term. Legislators pocket between Ksh 750, 000 and Ksh 650,000 as monthly basic pay.
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Going by that retirement gratuity scheme, lawmakers in both houses who have served for one cycle will each be paid Ksh 5.8 million, and those who have served more than one term will each pocket Ksh 7.8 million and a full pension of a lifelong stipend of Ksh 180,000.
Good for compensation
For a person to claim a life-long retirement benefits scheme, he or she must have served in Parliament for a minimum of 2 terms, and he or she must be over the age of 45 years.
The Parliamentary Pension Scheme data indicates that of the 417 members, only 12 lawmakers will be eligible to get the life-long pension as they have served for more than two terms.
The MPs contribute 1 cent of their monthly pension payments, which the government matches.
Lawmakers who are lucky enough to serve more than two terms in Parliament are qualified to get a pension for the rest of their lives, while those who do not make it are entitled to a refund equivalent to the amount contributed.
Recommendation by MPs
Earlier in February, the MPs had recommended 11.7 billion for a send-off package. The money was to be used to facilitate their accusations of free high-end cars, multimillion mortgages, and medical insurance cover. Interestingly, the lawmakers requested that the ministry of finance allocate 373 million shillings for the medical expenses of MPs who would fail to reclaim their seats.
Experts have argued that MPs are not civil servants, and hence they should not be beneficiaries of a lifetime pension scheme.
Retired state officers
The 2022-23 budget set aside Sh126.5 billion for retirees across all the public sector, something that the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has complained about as one of the major challenges presented by the increasing public pension budget.
- Mwai Kibaki And Daniel Arap Moi
According to annual budget documents, the two deceased former presidents spent Sh5 billion on retirement benefits in the last five years.
Other state officers were given Sh594 million each, including retired President Mwai Kibaki (Sh147 million) and Vice President Moody Awori (Sh44 million).
Akiwumi report
The Akiwumi report proposed a higher lofty annuity through revised terms and conditions of service for MPs and other parliamentary auxiliary personnel, as well as a monthly salary of Sh100,000 for former lawmakers who worked from 1984.
MPs’ sitting allowance, local travel perks, and car grants have been reduced ahead of the August General Election in the latest push to reduce the country’s ballooning wage bill.
are likely to be gazetted after the closure of Parliament to avoid a counter-attack from MPs.
The latest report sourced from the World Bank and various accredited insertions shows that the poverty level in Kenya is 0.5.
A family of four will need (204,018KSh) exclusive of rent to live a modest life in Kenya. A single adult will have to spend 56,262 KSH for him to have a modest life. Going by this data, it is only the lawmakers who can enjoy a modest life as most Kenyans earn less than Ksh 30,000.