Blow to MPs as President Uhuru Kenyatta turns down pension proposal

President Uhuru Kenyatta at a past function (PHOTO: FILE)

NAIROBI, KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta has referred back to Parliament the parliamentary pension amendment bill sponsored by ODM’s John Mbadi.

The Bill which the National Assembly members passed sought to amend section 8 of the Parliamentary Pensions Act to provide for an entitlement for former Members of Parliament who served between July 1 1984 and January 2001 to a monthly pension of 100,000.

In failing to sign the bill into law, the president noted that members pension under the act are calculated according to the contributions paid into the scheme during a parliamentary term yet the proposed amendment fails to provide for such calculation and makes no reference to Members contributions.

He also noted that the Bill overlooks the mandate of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission under the Constitution, which comprises, among other things, the setting and review of remuneration and benefits for all State officers, who include MPs, and that the proposed pension payment will result in an annual cost implication of about Sh444,000,000.

“Added to this, will be the almost certain demand for similar upward review of pension benefits by other retired State and public officers, which is within their rights to demand. The resultant ripple effect is unaffordable and unsustainable,” the President said.

Standing order 154 (2) requires the House to consider the President’s reservation within 21 days upon receipt of the memorandum.

In this regard, the reservations of the president, as contained in his memorandum, now stand committed to the departmental committee on finance and national planning for consideration, which should table its report soonest to allow the House to consider Uhuru’s reservations within the said timelines.