New push to reduce MPs, sack civil servants

Chair of Parliamentary Budget and Appropriations Committee Mutava Musyimi. (Photo: File/Standard)

There is a new push to cut down on the public wage bill and contain wastefulness in public service by reducing the number of members of national and county assemblies as well as forcing job cuts in the civil service.

Also proposed is the reduction of membership to the high-paying independent commissions.

An unprecedented increase in ‘unaccounted expenditure’ from Sh37 billion of actual expenditure in 2012-2013 to Sh67 billion in 2013-2014 is cited as “a sign that public funds are not used in the right manner”.

A report prepared by a team chaired by Auditor General Edward Ouko that did a socio-economic audit of the Constitution passed in 2010 recommended the measures to curb wastage in public institutions, counties and other governance bodies.

The audit found that Kenyans were 'over-represented' as the country has more representatives (number of members of National Assembly, Senate and county assemblies) compared to countries with similar population and size of economy.

Not only is the number of MPs above the global average but Kenyan lawmakers are also some of the most highly paid in the world, pocketing "more than representatives in some of the advanced economies".

"Kenya should reduce the number of MPs and MCAs without compromising national values on diversity, protection of vulnerable groups, and the marginalised, and the equality principle regarding gender," reads the report of the Working Group established by the National Assembly in February 2014 and which tabled its report in Parliament yesterday.

It recommends that the restructuring of public service should begin in earnest, adding "redundant staff at the county level should be assisted out of public service".

Job cuts are also envisaged at the top level to eliminate duplicity as the report noted "the policy should aim to establish a lean and efficient senior cadre in public service".

Independent commissions

Further, it proposes the membership of independent commissions, which presently comprises up to nine, should be reduced to a minimum of three and a maximum of five.

To curb looting at the counties, the report says the Controller of Budget should sanction withdrawals only after ensuring they are meant for "mandated functions".

According to the report, there is need to reduce the amount of money the country is spending on remuneration, even as public coffers seep from corruption arising for poor accountability systems.

It faults the Executive, the national and county governments and various institutions for "sins of omission and commission that have compromised the gains envisaged in the new Constitution."

"Devolution is not expensive; neither is the number of counties too high to maintain. Some of the concerns about expensive nature of devolution are tied to lack of prudence in use of public resources."

It went on: "Corruption and wastage of funds documented in reports by various oversight institutions are issues that must be addressed for devolution to deliver the best results."

On Parliament, it says Kenyans are 'over-represented', with 'the budget of Parliament being two per cent of the country's total budget.

"The Salaries Review Commission should develop guidelines for Parliament to follow to ensure that no more than 60 per cent of the current gross pay for MPs, MCAs, and other State officers shall be paid as basic salary; and no more than 40 per cent of present gross pay for MPs, MCAs and other State officers shall constitute allowances," it says.

The document is the product of the Working Group on the socio-economic audit of the 2010 Constitution. Its recommendations touch on various areas of Government, including the electoral system where it has proposed reforms.

The eight-member team led by Ouko was formed in 2014 with a mandate to assess the impact of the implementation of the new Constitution to the nations' economy.

Others members are Lady Justice Linnet Ndolo, Mr Abdirizak Nunow, Dr Karuti Kanyinga, Ms Susan Mang'eni, Mwarapao Wa-Mwachai, Prof David Some and Elizabeth Owiti.

The report was tabled in the National Assembly by the Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee Mutava Musyimi, who said "the committee has done its work and left the work of implementing the resolutions to the politicians".

"We worked with very limited data to come up with the report. Nonetheless, we came up with a good product," explained Ouko when handing over the report to the committee.

On electoral reforms, the team recommended: "Vote tallying and the process of confirmation of election results should be devolved to the county level. Each of the 47 counties should have tallying centres where the votes will be counted, tallied and final results released."

It also cited gaps in transition to the new Constitution, including delays in restructuring of the provincial administration.

On the Judiciary, it says a majority of Kenyans believe that corruption has increased compared to the period before the enactment of the new Constitution, and wants the Judicial Service Commission to develop a criteria to undertake a lifestyle audit of all judicial officers.

On managing the number of MPs to ensuring equity in representation, the report called for introduction of Mixed-Member Proportional representation where Kenyans vote for political parties which will then directly nominate MPs, according to their vote strength.

New system

According to the audit, the new system will both ensure that 'all votes count' in the composition of Parliament while taking care of all interests such as gender, youth, marginalised groups and persons with disabilities.

"The current electoral system (majoritarian) is not adequate to ensure inclusivity at the national level. There is need to introduce an electoral system that would effectively accommodate diversity and inclusivity in all its forms in the national government," reads the report.

"We are the only country in the whole word that has undertaken an audit of the constitution. We are not running away form the bigger picture, but we are also sensitive to the politics of the day," said Prof Kanyinga.

The budget committee is expected to scrutinise the report before preparing its own to be tabled in the National Assembly.