Kibaki cancels Cabinet meeting

By Beauttah Omanga

A Cabinet meeting meant to discuss a number of issues among them the recent MPs’ salary hike was cancelled at the last minute.

President Kibaki cancelled the meeting following the official visit by the President of Brazil Luiz Lula da Silva.

President da Silva paid a courtesy call on President Kibaki at State House on Tuesday morning. In a statement released by the PPS, the State House promised to appropriately make known of the new date for the next Cabinet meeting.

The controversial pay rise for MPs is expected to dominate the agenda of a special Cabinet meeting called for Tuesday.

The postponement of the meeting caught many Cabinet ministers by surprise as they were forced to cancel their campaign rallies to troop back to Nairobi.

Among the Ministers who had to put off engagements out of Nairobi and rushed to attend the meeting include Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Anyang Nyong’o and Lands Minister James Orengo, who were busy campaigning in the Matuga by-election for ODM’s candidate.

Higher Education Minister William Ruto, who was scheduled to address a ‘No’ campaign rally in Loitoktok, had initially considered letting suspended Roads Assistant Minister Wilfred Machage to represent him as he attended the meeting but on learning of the cancellation, proceeded to the rally.

It was assumed that the cancelled meeting would have seen the Cabinet take a common stand on the proposed salary increment.

The proposals, termed as unacceptable by various groups and leaders led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has been met with a furious backlash.

Kenyans are concerned that if the President accepts the proposal, Kenyan political leaders would earn more than most of their counterparts in Europe.

There are fears that MPs are scheming to paralyse government business in the House in a bid to force the Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta to give in.

Uhuru has stood his ground that the Treasury has no money to pay the MPs.

Civil societies had planned a demo on Tuesday to express their displeasure with the MPs’ move to increase their salaries but pushed it to Thursday following an advise by the police.

"The police requested that we re-schedule our demo to Thursday because they will be pre-occupied with the security of the visiting Brazilian President," said a member of the demo’s organising committee.

The national Budget presented by Uhuru last month is yet to be approved by the House, and they may seek to assert their position by blocking it.A