A last minute night amendment by MPs to increase their send-off pay to Sh3.72 million each was mooted at a luncheon sponsored by Finance minister Njeru Githae (pictured) to have Parliament pass the Finance Bill 2011. FILE
What you need to know:
Who voted NO to Midiwo rate caps
Omondi Anyanga, Njoroge Baiya, Franklin Bett, Peris Chepchumba, Adan Duale, Njeru Githae, Dadho Godhana, Fred Gumo, Fondo Gunda, Prof. Magaret Kamar, Maina Kamau, Jamleck Kamau, Ephraim Maina, Kambi Kambi, Fred Kapondi, Uhuru Kenyatta, Adan Keynan, Peter Kiilu, Amos Kimunya, Lee Kinyanjui, Jeremiah Kioni, Beatrice Kones, Moses Lessonet, Maison Leshoomo, Rapahel Letimalo, Ntoitha M’Mithiaru, Magerer Langat, Benson Mbai, Elias Mbau, Gideon Mbuvi,John Mututho, Musalia Mudavadi, Peter Munya, Isaac Muoki, Nderitu Muriithi, Esther Murugi, Kiraitu Murungi, Kalonzo Musyoka, Johnstone Muthama, Sammy Mwaita, Mwangi Kiunjuri, Josephat Nanok,Gideon Ndambuki, David Njuguna, Sofia Noor, George Nyamweya Chris Obure, Cyprian Omollo, Dr. Wilbur Otichillo, Otieno Kajwang, Dr Paul Otuoma, Dalmas Otieno, Samuel Poghisio, Eng. James Rege, William Ruto, Alfred Sambu, Aden Sugow and Clement Wambugu.
A last minute night amendment by MPs to increase their send-off pay to Sh3.72 million each was mooted at a luncheon sponsored by Finance minister Njeru Githae to have Parliament pass the Finance Bill 2011.
In total, the 224 MPs —the House Speaker and Attorney General include — will take home Sh833 million on expiry of their five-year term next year. Temporary speakers and members of the House bureaucracy also got generous pay-offs in the deal.
Details of the amendment have emerged with information pointing to Mr Githae yielding to MPs demands that their winding up allowance be doubled in return for scrapping Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo’s proposed amendment to cap interest rates charged by commercial banks at four percentage points above the Central Bank Rate.
In essence, the MPs forced the taxpayer to pay a hefty price to save bank profits.
Mr Githae amended the National Assembly Remuneration Act to reflect the new package. MPs on Thursday passed the Finance Bill incorporating the amendment late into the night after journalists had left without a clue of what was in the offing.
It also emerged that a commissioner with the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) drafted the amendment that was latter taken up by Mr Githae and slotted into the Finance Bill.
The amendment, which was drafted on a scrap of paper sought to abolish the Sh1.5 million allowance payable to each MP at the end of their term.
Currently, each MP gets Sh300,000 annually as gratuity translating to Sh1.5 million at the end of their term.
The life of the tenth Parliament ends on January 14 ahead of the next General Election set for March 4 next year.
The lawmakers voted last Thursday night to have their gratuity calculated at 33 per cent of their Sh860,000 basic pay.
During the debate on the proposed law, nominated MP Millie Odhiambo said: “I am speaking slowly today because I have not eaten lunch.
If I am a communist then I am very happy than eating a Sh50, 000 lunch. I am going home with a fatter conscience.”
The change in MPs’ gratuity was incorporated with an earlier one drafted by Mr Githae seeking to introduce responsibility allowances for the deputy Speaker Farah Maalim and members of the Speakers Panel and PSC commissioners. Members of the panel are four MPs appointed by the Speaker to act as temporary speakers when Speaker Kenneth Marende or his deputy are not present to conduct House business.
They are Gitobu Imanyara, Ekwee Ethuro, Prof Philip Kaloki and Dr Joyce Laboso who will each take home Sh1.2 million for every year served as responsibility allowance.
Mr Maalim will take home Sh2.4 million for each year backdated to January 2008 when he took over as deputy Speaker, totalling Sh9.6 million.
Each of the 10 PSC commissioners were handed Sh1.2 million as responsibility allowance for each year served.
All payments have been backdated to the time the various officials assumed office. However, the parliamentary responsibility allowance has been backdated to 2006, meaning that former MPs in the Ninth Parliament who held such positions will be paid too.
Members of the Speaker’s panel and those who served in PSC in the Ninth Parliament are to be compensated after a court ruling forced them to repay the money they earned as responsibility allowance because they were paid without an enabling law.
An MP who attended Githae’s luncheon and who did not wish to be named said a decision was made not to list the amendment in the days’ Parliament Order Paper to avoid attention of the media. “It was agreed in principal that the package should not be listed in the order paper but that the amendment-number 44 be floated at the tail-end of the committee stage,” said the MP.
On Monday, nominated MP Mohammed Affey said the amounts were justified given the enormous responsibilities MPs shoulder while discharging their duties.
“If they think that this award is illegal, then they should move to court to contest the decision, otherwise parliament has a legislative mandate and MPs legislated,” he said
