Ward reps want their salaries reviewed

By Naftal Makori                     

Nyamira, Kenya:  Ward Representatives in Nyamira County want the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to review their salaries that have since been gazetted.

In a statement read by Beauttah Omanga of Bogichora Ward on behalf of the 20 county representatives, the leaders argued that Sh79,200 was below expectation and was unequal to amount of work that would be done.

“The wards are now expanded and the amount that would be paid would not sustain us adequately. We urge the commission to consider revising the salary to at least Sh200,000,” said Omanga.

The County Representatives said devolution would not take off smoothly unless fairness prevailed in allocating salaries to public officers.

He said the public had very high expectations on their elected leaders and they might not manage to deliver with just Sh79,000.

“To be fair, the amount is too little compared to the amount of work expected to be done. We support our colleagues from Bomet County who raised similar concerns last week,” he added.

Further, the County Representative demanded office space from where the leaders would be drafting Bills before presenting them for debate.

“We need offices; the state of affairs now is quite discouraging. We have been sitting under a tree waiting to enter into the assembly. We need somewhere to even store our records,” he added.