Home » Media Centre » Blogs » President’s Gratuity: How much is Too Much?
Not only do we have one of the highest paid legislatures in the world but I’m quite sure that our President is also one of the highest paid in the world. This week the Nairobi Star ran a story on the gratuity that the President would be receiving come the end of his term in office. According to the report:
“When President Kibaki walks out of state house after the next elections he will go home with a hefty gratuity of 50 million shillings…In addition to the one off payment the Finance Minister, Njeru Githae, has proposed to increase the annual allocation for retired Presidents from the current 17.7 million shillings to 30.2 million shillings. The increase is meant to cater for the monthly pension which is due to Kibaki plus what tax payers have been paying to ex-President Moi since 2003…the gratuity is considered a ‘token of appreciation’ from Kenyans to the President for the hard work that the President has been doing for the two terms he will have served by the time he leaves office. The amount is calculated as a sum equal to one year’s salary for each term Kibaki has served as President. Kibaki will also be entitled to get a monthly pension equal to eighty per cent of his current salary of Sh 2 million a month, approximately 24 million per year.”
The President’s gratuity is the highest to be paid in the history of the country and has already been factored into the 2012/2013 budget. The gratuity is also projected to rise by approximately 1 million shillings year on year in the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 fiscal years. This comes on the heels of the increase of the gratuity to be paid to MPs at the end of their term.
Given the state of the country, high inflation, high unemployment, high cost of living, the huge budget deficit, the recent move by the Cabinet to cap the salaries of civil servants, you would think implementing austerity measures across the board would be chief among the governments priorities, particularly for a group the what are already amongst highest bracket of earners in the country.
In country that is run by not just a President, but a Prime Minister, a vice president, and two deputy prime ministers, this sort to development is worrying. What are your thoughts on the proposed gratuity for the President?
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