Taxpayers will fork out additional Sh1.53 billion annually to pamper the 67 legislators with a wide range of privileges, including the purchase of a four-wheel-drive stationed at the county office.
Besides, each of the 47 elected senators will earn a monthly county allowance of Sh500,000, costing the taxpayer Sh282 million annually.
The legislators will also be paid Sh780,000 in monthly allocation for personnel emoluments besides an additional mark up of 10 per cent per constituency to counties with more than four constituencies.
The cost of Kenya’s over-representative democracy could rise by more than Sh1 billion if the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) approves a new set of demands by the country’s 67 senators.
Taxpayers will fork out additional Sh1.53 billion annually to pamper the 67 legislators with a wide range of privileges, including the purchase of a four-wheel-drive stationed at the county office.
The PSC, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, is set to meet Wednesday morning to consider the raft of demands contained in a Senate-backed document that is laden with enhanced perks for its members.
The Senate Tuesday gave the document the green light at an informal meeting chaired by its Speaker Ekwee Ethuro.
The document is the product of a nine-member task force that was appointed on April 25 to look into the welfare of the senators.
The team has recommended hefty pay perks for senators that includes a county office allocation complete with provisions for staffing, salaries and remuneration, car grants and monthly allowances.
If the proposals of the Senate deputy speaker Kembi Gitura-led task force are adopted, each of the 67 senators will be entitled to Sh2.4 million for the purchase of furniture at the commencement of each term of Parliament, setting the taxpayer some Sh160 million back.
Besides, each of the 47 elected senators will earn a monthly county allowance of Sh500,000, costing the taxpayer Sh282 million annually.
Personnel emoluments
The legislators will also be paid Sh780,000 in monthly allocation for personnel emoluments besides an additional mark up of 10 per cent per constituency to counties with more than four constituencies.
That means the senators will take home some Sh627.1 million annually for personnel emoluments and another Sh44 million in additional mark up to the 47 elected senators.
The Gitura-led team also wants senators to be allocated Sh420,000 per month for consumables and office operations or a total of Sh337.7 million annually.
The task force has also made provision for each senator to get a monthly allocation for rent (in case of a county or constituency office in Nairobi, Mombasa or Kisumu Sh168,000) and in respect of a county or constituency office in all other areas Sh140,000.
Members of the task force included Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki, Minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula, Majority Whip Beatrice Elachi and Minority Deputy Whip Janet Ong’era. Others were Billow Kerrow, George Khaniri, Paul Wamatangi and Boniface Lenairoshi.
The team wants each of the 47 counties to be provided with a four-wheel-drive vehicle not exceeding 3000 cc stationed at county offices.
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