Speaker Justin Muturi and MPs dismiss Ababu Namwamba’s pay cut motion

NAIROBI: A motion seeking to slash the salaries of Members of Parliament and other top public officers has run into headwinds after Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi led legislators in dismissing it as a non-starter and populist.

Tuesday, the motion by Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba attracted the wrath of the House leadership who termed the move by the legislator as “not well thought out” and only meant to excite unnecessary passions.

The Speaker, who is among those targetted in the proposed pay cuts, argued that some of the issues that have been raised in the motion, would require a referendum, and that the issue of remuneration is best left to the constitutionally mandated Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

“The things I have seen in the motion are just meant to excite people. There is no salary reduction that can be effected through a motion. The motion has all the making of populist antics,” said Muturi on the sidelines of the launch of the Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training in Karen, Nairobi.

“The motion is a joke on the face of a very serious matter. For whatever reason, Namwamba is seeking cheap fame. The motion lacks merit and is no well-thought out,” said Abdikadir Aden (Balambala).

OFFICERS TARGETED

The motion, which has already been approved, seeks to slash, by half, the salaries of top public officers and abolish the hefty allowances that have in the past been blamed for contributing to the unhealthy wage bill.

Other than MPs and Speakers of both Houses, others targeted are the President, deputy president, cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries and governors.

It also targets members of constitutional commissions, chief executive officers of parastatals, judges, among other officers blamed for pocketing hefty salaries and allowances.

However, Peter Kaluma (Homa Bay) argued that the motion, although populist, will allow the country to debate the increasing wage disparities in the country.