'We deserve it': MPs push for pay rise

During Parliament proceedings on Thursday, the MPs gave the green light for the new Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) commissioners; urging them to conduct their duties objectively. 

The team comprises Sammy Chepkwony (chairperson), Dr. Gilda Odeya, Jane Njage, Leonid Ashindu, Geoffrey Omondi, Martin Kizito and Mohamed Abdi. 

According to National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, the outgoing commissioners froze their pay rise due to the Gen Z protests despite it being a constitutional process. He warned the new team against making such decisions. 

"They wanted to play populist politics and pit MPs against the members of the public when they published the normal annual increment of MPs during the Gen Z protests. MPs like other Kenyans deserve a pay rise," Ichung'wah remarked. 

National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed echoed Ichung'wah's remarks, citing that lawmakers were often victimised by the previous team. 

"SRC thinks we [MPs] are a bunch of jokers. They assume we are just enjoying security, air-conditioned offices, and a good time. I challenge them to address wage bill disparities in the public service," Junet stated. 

While calling on the new commissioners to begin on a new slate, Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohamed expressed the desire for a higher pay rise to reflect their value to society. 

"We were forced to denounce the Ksh.7,000 salary increment while we wanted more. The salaries we earn go to the communities we serve. We were forced to reject the increment to save our lives. You know times are hard," she noted. 

The MPs' push for a new pay rise has elicited an uproar from Kenyans who condemned them for serving their self-interests. 

"How can u be given a pay raise yet u are earning millions as others are earning hundreds of thousands while a common mwananchi is being deducted what he/she doesn't have? Seriously what kind of leaders are these?"

"Do you people realise some civil servants are earning less than 35k monthly taxable income?"

"97 per cent of all the MPs in that house deserve much less, actually nothing! They're fully responsible for the misery that is in Kenya right now," read some of the comments online. 

It's no secret that Kenyan MPs enjoy hefty perks and allowances with a 2020 global ranking placing them as the second-highest-paid lawmakers in the world. 

The ranking, conducted by the United Kingdom's Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), showed that Kenyan MPs beat their counterparts from first-world economies such as the United States, Japan and Britain.