Why MPs earn the highest for resting the most

Proceeding at the National Assembly. [File, Standard] There was a collective sigh of relief in the chambers on Wednesday when National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula announced that MPs would be proceeding on recess. The legislators were understandably delighted by the reality of retreating to their constituencies on recess for the second time this year. Equally tantalizing besides resting for two weeks was the opportunity the recess presents-raking in billions in mileage allowances for breaking away from their workstations. This is the greatest irony. That the 349, some of Kenya's most highly paid public servants with an average pay of Sh1,105,611 also rest the most since the lawmakers spend 172 days, or 5 months and seven days away from parliament. This sharply contrasts with other Kenyan workers who can only hope to break away for 25 days, calculated at 2 days for every month worked, except for unionisabe employees who are entitled to 41 leave days. MPs are now at the center of mounting criticism over their 'perennial' breaks from the House as questions rise on how much time they actually spend on their 'duty stations' in contrast to their hefty perks. According to the National Assembly calendar, the House is this year scheduled to sit from February 11 to December 5, with the MPs only having sittings on Tuesdays (afternoon), Wednesdays (Morning and afternoon), and Thursdays (afternoon). The calendar is further divided into three parts, with the first being between February 11 to 13 March, the second between 27 May to July 3rd, and the third being between November 4 to December 4. Already, the MPs have been on recess two times in the first part since their return in February, having taken their first short recess from March 14 to March 31 (17 calendar days). They are currently on long recess that will run from May 2 to May 26 (24 days). For the second part, they are expected to proceed on short recess from 4th July to July 21 (17 days) and later proceed on long recess from August 15 to September 15 (31 days). And for the third part, they will go on short recess from 17th October to 3rd November (17 days) before proceeding on the final long recess of the calendar year from 5th December to 9th February, 2026 ( 66 days). Cumulatively, the MPs are on recess for a total of 172 days in a year, which translates to five months and 7 days. This is compared to 41 days for a common unionisable employee. However, committee sittings are usually ongoing during the recess period. In terms of pay, the MPs have a new salary structure that entitles them to Sh739,6000 per month in gross pay and an additional Sh356,525 in car maintenance allowance monthly. They are also entitled to claim one return trip per week at a rate of Sh156.2 per Kilometer. Also accessible to them is a car loan of up to Sh8 million payable within their 5-year term and a mortgage not exceeding Sh35 million. Those in the House leadership, including the Leader of Majority and Leader of Minority and their whips get an additional Sh150,000 in Special Parliamentary duty allowance Further, the legislators receive sitting allowances at the rate of Sh15,000 per sitting for a committee chairperson, which is capped at Sh240,000 per month, while a Vice chairperson earns Sh12,000. Ordinary committee members are entitled to Sh7500 per sitting. Every MP is entitled to at least one committee membership. Some lawmakers belong to three or four committees. The MPS are also now eligible for a Sh366,011 each (totaling Sh4.4 billion) as a fixed monthly mileage allowance effective April 1, 2025, until August 2027. Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia however says that the criticism against MPs being " 'perennially' on recess is neither warranted nor justified given that the legislators "work more" during their breaks from the House. "An MP is usually even working double when on recess because there's too much to be done at the constituency level. I however know that there's a problem because some of the members do not go to their constituencies to interact with the electorate," stated Kaguchia. "That program/calendar of the House is designed like that so that members can achieve a balance between legislative and hands-on work. Otherwise, you can be in the House for nothing; just passing Bills and motions without connecting with the electorate and following up on their implementation is not enough," he reiterated. Granted, being that the MPs are elected representatives, they take the time to break to visit their constituents; launch projects, and attend church events, weddings and even funerals. However, the speaker is not an elected representative and has no constituency to attend to. During the break, House committees are also busy considering key House business. Currently, the Finance Committee is considering the Finance Bill 2025, MPs are also expected to steer the public participation exercise from next week on the Constitutional Amendment (Bill)2025 in their respective constituencies- the Bill seeks to entrench the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), the Senate Oversight Fund and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) in law. The MPs have occasionally been accused of stalling key House business, such as bills and criticized their long-running inability to crack a code on how to ensure gender balance in the House. During the 2025 Mid-Term Retreat in Naivasha earlier this year, National Assembly Clerk Samuel Njoroge urged departmental committees to expedite the handling of over 200 pending legislative proposals. He warned that the backlog posed a worrying trend and risked demoralizing MPs who drafted the proposals. "I want to take this opportunity to urge chairpersons of the committees to expedite the process of dealing with the legislative proposals drafted by members and pending on their intrays," said Njoroge. "All eyes are on the committees in regards to clearing with the business that is pending before them." A report by Mzalendo Trust, a Kenyan Parliamentary monitoring organisation, also paints a picture of a Parliament at odds with citizen expectations, demands and priorities. In the 2024 Parliamentary Scorecard, Mzalendo noted there had been a high number of instances of members' absenteeism from the House, the passage of bills that disregard citizen inputs, voting patterns that do not represent the wishes of citizens, and attempts to weaken constitutional provisions through introductions of Bills and amendments to existing legislations. "In contrast, the number of MPs who have not spoken this year is slightly higher compared to last year's Scorecard, from 19 MPs to 20 MPs, with more than half of the House having spoken less than ten times," read the report in part. Among the perennial non-speakers include the Kapseret MP, Hon. Oscar Sudi (Kapseret) and Makadara MP, George Aladwa, whose silence on the floor has become emblematic of a lack of substantive engagement by some elected representatives. Despite their silence, many of these members voted on critical Bills, including those affecting health, housing, taxation, and impeachment motions. But Senate Delegated Legislation Committee Chairperson and Tharaka Nithi Senator Mwenda Gataya dismissed the notion that the recess period was synonymous with resting for the lawmakers. "Parliament works on an agreed calendar and recess is not necessarily about resting...It's an opportunity for senators to interrogate other matters like county visits to check various oversight-related issues," observed Gataya. Hillary Sigei, who is the Bomet Senator and Senate Legal Affairs Committee Chairperson, affirmed Kaguchia's sentiments. "While on recess, the house business doesn't stop. It is during the recess that committees do a lot of oversight visits to counties. For the last week, the liaison, the education, devolution, Labour, County Public Accounts and Investments committee (CPAIC ), health committees have been reported visiting counties across the country on fact-finding missions and oversight roles. It is actually an intensive working recess," Sigei said. Nominated MP Miraj Abdullahi added, "I'm currently in a committee meeting of Roads ...I have been in several committees throughout this recess, if you go through the parliament social media, you'll attest that we are on recess for plenary only, but we are still on duty.

Why MPs earn the highest for resting the most

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