Kinyua orders State corporations to stop MPs’ allowances
Members of the National Assembly’s Energy committee on a past fact-finding mission at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
President Kenyatta’s chief of staff Joseph Kinyua has warned principal secretaries and heads of state firms that the payments are illegal and actionable.
In a circular to all PSs, Mr Kinyua points to the possibility of MPs drawing double allowances from Parliament and ministries whenever they visit state agencies as committee members or attend functions there.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Chief of Staff and the head of public service, Joseph Kinyua, has ordered parastatal chiefs to stop paying allowances to Members of Parliament, terming such payments irregular.
In a circular to all principal secretaries, Mr Kinyua says the payments, usually made in the form of allowances, should be fully catered for by Parliament and not ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that are subject to parliamentary action.
“Daily subsistence allowance and other allowances payable to Members of Parliament, in instances where MPs are invited by ministries, departments and agencies will be fully catered for by Parliament,” Mr Kinyua wrote in the circular dated November 13, 2015. “[Any other payments to MPs] are irregular and accounting officers and chief executive officers of State corporations will be held accountable in the event that this requirement is violated.”
The revelation that MPs have been receiving extra allowances from MDAs is likely draw public anger, with Kenyans having previously expressed outrage at the generous allowances and perks such as mileage allowances the legislators are entitled to every month.
The decision on allowances was made at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Deputy President William Ruto.
Mr Kinyua’s circular points to the possibility of MPs drawing double allowances from Parliament and MDAs whenever they visit state agencies as committee members or attend functions there.
Daily subsistence allowance (per diem) is paid to an officer who is away from their work station on official assignment.
This means that MPs receiving subsistence allowance from the MDAs do so while on official parliamentary duties and have most likely received similar payments from the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).
The legislators’ pay, including allowances, is handled by the PSC.
A 2014 circular by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) says MPs are entitled to daily subsistence allowances of Sh18,200 for assignments in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu Malindi, Kilifi, Lamu, Kwale and Naivasha.
MPs travelling on official assignment to Nyeri, Eldoret, Kericho, Kakamega, Kisii, Embu, Nanyuki, Nakuru, Lodwar and Garissa are entitled to Sh12,600 daily while assignments to all other towns attract a Sh10,500 daily allowance.
With the payment from MDAs, the MPs may have been receiving double these amounts, making theirs the most lucrative in the country.
The circular did not indicate what type of meetings or assignments entitle MPs to allowances from MDAs but it is known that the legislators usually interact with the entities through parliamentary committees.
Members of the National Assembly sit on committees as chairpersons or members and regularly interact with State corporations on official site visits as part of investigations or fact-finding proceedings.
During committee sittings, chairpersons are entitled to a Sh10,000 allowance per day up to a maximum four days per week, vice-chairpersons receive Sh8,000 while ordinary members earn Sh5,000 a day.
This means a committee chairperson could earn up to Sh160,000, a vice-chairperson Sh128,000 and a member Sh80,000 a month from committee sittings alone.
In addition, the parliamentarians are entitled to security and mileage claims.
The National Assembly’s Energy committee recently toured the moribund Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited and the Geothermal Development Company (GDC).
The Land committee also visited the Ministry and the National Land Commission offices while the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives visited the Galana and the National Irrigation Board offices.
Departmental committees are tasked with overseeing administration of ministries and parastatals.
That committee mandate often includes investigating and reporting to Parliament all matters relating to the management, activities, administration, operations of the relevant ministries and departments, putting them in regular contact with the said agencies.
Committees also hold meetings with the relevant ministries on issues relating to Bills they want to introduce in Parliament.
Mr Kinyua’s circular only singled out the subsistence allowance but did not indicate whether MPs have been receiving other allowances like sitting and mileage from the MDAs.
The report that MPs are drawing double allowances is a further blow to the austerity drive that the Jubilee government has struggled to implement in the past two years.
Attempts to curb expenditure on travel and hospitality by government entities has largely been unsuccessful with MPs and members of county assemblies (MCAs) coming out as the highest spenders.
The Controller of Budget’s report for the year ending June 2015 shows that the wage bill of the National Assembly and the Senate stood at Sh11.2 billion, an increase from Sh9.2 billion a year earlier.
In addition to their wages, the legislators spent Sh4.1 billion in travel last year. In total, the recurrent budget for the two Houses stood at Sh20.5 billion.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) recently reported rampant false mileage claims worth millions of shillings that the legislators make every month, underlining the MPs’ profligacy.
The EACC report indicated that some MPs received up to Sh1.5 million in untaxed money every month above their normal salaries and allowances.
An MP is entitled to Sh187 for every kilometre covered after clocking 750 km every month.
After every weekend, MPs report the kilometres travelled to Parliament in order to qualify for reimbursement.
The EACC report said that there is no uniform way to verify the mileage filings, leaving MPs from far-flung constituencies the leeway to make fictitious claims.
Parliament uses up to Sh1.8 billion a year on mileage compensation alone. The huge perks have seen some Kenyans view Parliament as a burden and have called for a reduction in the number of legislators.
The defunct Commission for the Implementation of the Commission (CIC) last week said the number of elected MPs should be reduced from 290 to 150.
