Home » Media Centre » Blogs » Parliament vs. the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Again
Following the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s downward review of the MPs salaries last year (a welcome move given how much MPs are paid, as well as country’s public wage bill that grew in leaps and abounds with the addition of the new governmental structures) MPs engaged the Commission in a battle over salaries that seemed to take up most of 2013’s legislative agenda.
Member of the National Assembly, Mithika Linturi, filed a motion that sought to remove the SRC Chairperson Sarah Serem and her team for refusing to review the new pay structure and accused the SRC of discriminating against members of parliament, governors, county and women representatives.
Members of the National Assembly also attempted to have legislation amended to have their positions excluded from the definition of State Officers. The intention of the amendment was that the Members of the National Assembly would no longer be State Officers thus avoiding the requirement that their salaries be set and regulated by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
Eventually the Members of the National Assembly won the battle when members of the National Assembly voted to increase their salaries adopting a report that recommended the legal notice reducing their salaries be revoked.
At the time the Speaker of the National Assembly was quoted as stating that the move by the National Assembly to increase salaries of members was a correction of “an illegality” done by the SRC. The Speaker insisted that the SRC had violated the law. The Speaker was quoted as stating that, “It [was] the constitutional role of Parliament to make and change laws.” that “Parliament cannot be directed by any organ other than itself and the Constitution.”
At the time the Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) released a statement condemning the move and stating“It is important to note that the demand for an independent body to set the salaries and benefits of State officers arose from a concern that conflicts of interest were inevitable when institutions in the public service were setting salaries, benefits and remuneration for themselves and staff of peer institutions.” The CIC condemned the call for the disbandment of the SRC stating further that “IT IS IMPORTANT TO REALISE THAT SRC IS NOT REQUIRED BY THE CONSTITUTION TO GAZETTE THE SALARIES AND BENEFITS OF STATE OFFICERS TO MAKE THEM EFFECTIVE, SRC JUST CHOSE THE MODE OF GAZETTMENT IN GOOD FAITH FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION. Quashing the gazette notices is therefore of no effect as the new salaries and benefits are already set and communicated to the institutions responsible for paying salaries and benefits. Furthermore the National Assembly Remuneration Act cannot be the basis of paying MPs salaries and benefits since under Article 2(4) it is void to the extent that it is inconsistent with Article 230(1) of the constitution.”
Last week a three-judge bench of the High Court ruled that the National Assembly over stepped in the revoking the gazette notice reviewing the salaries downward, and the further that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission is the only body mandated to set salaries of State Officers, Members of the National Assembly included.
So far MPs have not responded to the High Court ruling, however the House is back from recess, the big question is whether or not the National Assembly will comply with Court’s ruling.
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