MPs lose Sh80,000 sittings pay, gain Sh150,000 house allowance
Contrary to claims that Members of Parliament have had their salaries reduced, the lawmakers will instead rake in billions in new benefits announced by the Salaries and Remunerations Commission (SRC).
The new 416 MPs of the two Houses will receive a whopping Sh19.2 billion in benefits and allowances. The National Assembly has 349 MPs while the Senate has 67 members.
A Gazette Notice signed by SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich (pictured), MPs will be entitled to a mortgage of between Sh35 million to Sh40 million and a car loan of Sh10 million.
If each MP applies for a Sh35 million mortgage, the 416 members will rake in Sh14.5 billion and Sh4.1 billion in car loans.
And although the MPs’ basic monthly pay has been reduced from Sh532,500 to Sh426,000 with their plenary sitting allowance of Sh5,000 abolished, they have been awarded Sh150,000 house allowance, a new benefit.
This adds up to Sh710,000 monthly gross salary, which does not include committee sitting allowances and mileage claims. Out of this, the MPs will receive Sh295 million.
The gross pay comes from Sh426,000 basic pay, Sh150,000 house allowance and Sh134,000 in salary market adjustment.
From salary market adjustment, the lawmakers will make Sh10.6 million. SRC characterises salary market adjustment as a salary modification that takes into account market positioning and constitutional and statutory principles on review of remuneration and benefits.
A special parliamentary duty allowance of Sh150,000 will be paid to MPs in the leadership of the two Houses.
The commission has, however, abolished car grants and instead the MPs will apply for loans payable on current bank rates.
Although SRC has scrapped sitting allowance, the MPs still stand to recover the money from the newly introduced house allowance.
MPs have four sittings in a week, with each receiving Sh5,000 per sitting attended, meaning that they were entitled to Sh20,000 for those attending all. An MP would receive Sh80,000 per month in sitting allowances.
However, they stand to recover the lost money in house allowance of Sh150,000.
Members of the County Assemblies were the main losers after the commission abolished the Sh2 million grant for each of the 2,237 members.
The grant had been approved in February last year to woo the MCAs to approve the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
Instead, the MCAs will get a car loan of Sh5 million payable on current bank rates.
The commission has also abolished the car grant benefit for State officers and instead introduced a transport facilitation benefit.
