Members of the county assemblies (MCAs) have started, just like their National Assembly counterparts, to demand for house allowances justifying their claims based on a court ruling.
The MCAs want house allowances pegged at 30 per cent of their gross salaries. This means that on average, each MCA will get about Sh60,000.
This will mean an additional Sh132 million in monthly wage bill or Sh1.5 billion per year. Most of the MCAs are locals and travel to their homes every day.
A house rent of Sh60,000 is costly to most people, even among the middle class in Nairobi. These demands, just like those of the MPs are not only unfortunate and ridiculous but also are part of the grand corruption that our leaders have perfected through soft means.
According to reporters from the field, Laikipia, Kirinyaga and Taita Taveta are among the county assemblies that have started agitating for house allowances.
The Laikipia County Assembly last week passed a motion that seeks to approve and adopt the resolution of County Assemblies Forum Governing Council on members getting housing allowances.
Leader of Majority Peter Thomi (Githiga) tabled the motion on Wednesday saying that the payment of the house allowance be effected and implemented as of the date of issue of the ruling of the High Court in constitutional petition number 328 of 2016.
“Council of Governors versus Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) pronounced that denying some state officers similar benefits enjoyed by other state officers is discriminatory, unjustifiably selective and contrary to Article 27 of the constitution,” Thomi argued.
He noted that such conduct is a violation of the fundamental rights of the state officers, which such conduct is desirous of denunciation by the members of county assemblies.
Thomi said that the resolution of the governing council finds precedence and relative applicability from Parliament of payment of housing allowance to its members despite lack of the SRC directive in affirmation of the same.
In Taita Taveta and Kirinyaga, the MCAs have unanimously voted to award themselves house allowances. “The implementation of the payment of the house allowance to the members of the county assembly be commenced with immediate effect,” read the motion.
House Speaker Meshack Maganga said the MCAs acted right and only SRC’s approval was needed.
“Some MCAs reside in remote areas and report late to the assembly. The house allowance is justifiable and SRC will determine the scale.”
Maganga argued that governors, their deputies, county executive committee members and county chief officers are all paid house allowances, and that it was time the MCAs benefited, too.
These demands come as it emerged that MCAs’ sitting allowance for the nine months to March 2019 more than doubled to Sh1.54 billion after the High Court scrapped the SRC cut on state officers’ benefits.
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Controller of Budget report showed the highest jump since the onset of devolution in 2013, from the Sh670 million the 2,247 MCAs earned in similar period a year earlier.
The SRC in July 2017 abolished MCAs’ mileage reimbursements, sitting allowances for plenary sessions and special responsibility perks.
But the High Court last year reinstated the benefits, forcing the SRC to return the cap on sitting allowances to Sh124,800 monthly from Sh80,000.
We call on the SRC, the president and the Judiciary to come to the aid of taxpayers in addressing escalating white-collar corruption by elected leaders.
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