By Gerald A Babu
Nyanza,Kenya: Campaign time is long gone. The elections are behind us. What we have now are our elected leaders.
Recently, our governors, county representatives and Members of Parliament demanded a pay hike.Some MPs even threatened to frustrate government busines in the House if they do not get a pay raise.
They even went ahead to demand for the disbandment of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) alleging the commission breached the Constitution while setting their salaries.
Now, the common ‘mwananchi’ cannot help but wonder: Is the Constitution there to protect wanjiku or enable elected leaders earn more? If members of the tenth Parliament earned over Sh800,000 per month each, I believe that that was the end of impunity.
We now have 349 MPs of the National Assembly and if all of them earn what their predecessors used to, then you can be sure that our economy will go nowhere.
We elected leaders who knew how much they were going to earn once elected.
If any of them is not comfortable with the salary they have been offered, he or she is free to walk out and look for a better paying job elsewhere.
We will then ensure his or her immediate replacement. We do not elect leaders whose main priority is a high salary over and above leadership and service delivery to the public.
Shame on you, “honourable’” leaders.
{Gerald A Babu, Maseno University}
