Being a politician is difficult yet SRC thinks we’re jokers: Junet

National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed has advised the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) against being harsh on politicians over what he calls a perception that political leaders are “jokers”.

During a session on Thursday when lawmakers approved a new seven-member SRC panel chaired by Samuel Chepkwony, Mohamed said politics is “a calling”.

“It is a very difficult job but everybody outside thinks it is a walk in the park; you have to think of your constituents, Kenyans and make sure you pass the right laws, make sure you are there when the laws are being passed,” the Suna East MP said.

The minority leader urged SRC to “look at things holistically” when making policies on politicians’ salaries and told the commission not to be “duped that if you’re deal with politicians, it is when Kenyans will take you seriously.”

Still, Mohamed told the new commission that there was a need to harmonise wage disparities across various sectors in the country.

“The low-cadre person must feel they are doing a good job and are being given a good remuneration as the highest-paid person,” he said.

During the debate, Mohamed’s majority counterpart Kimani Ichung’wah criticised the previous SRC, chaired by Lyn Mengich for what he described as making populist decisions.

Ichung’wah took an issue with last year’s gazettement of an annual increment of MPs’ salaries at a time when Kenyans were protesting the high cost of living and the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024.

“The timing of that gazette notice was highly suspect. It was purely aimed at playing populist politics, pandering to public sentiment, and further poisoning Kenyans against Members of Parliament,” Ichung’wah told the House.

“We need balance in managing public affairs, especially on personnel and remuneration, but this must be done fairly and thoughtfully.”

The new SRC team Parliament approved on Thursday comprises Chepkwony, Major General (Rtd) Martin Kizito, nominee representing the Defence Council; Mohamed Aden Abdi for county governments; Jane Njage for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and Leonid Ashindu (Association of Professional Societies in East Africa).

Others are Gilder Odera representing the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and Geoffrey Omondi for the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU).

Chepkwony succeeds Mengich, whose six-year tenure ended last September.