Members of Parliament are at it again! They are demanding facilitation for accommodation whenever they come to Nairobi to discharge their legislative work.
The MPs are angry that the implementation of a recommendation on their accommodation in Nairobi has remained in limbo despite the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) having budgeted for it in the 2018/19 Financial Year.
The lawmakers now want PSC to give a time frame for the implementation of the report and expend the budgetary allocation. The MPs attend House proceeding in Nairobi thrice a week.
On Tuesdays, they have one sitting, Wednesdays two sittings and Thursdays one sitting. On these days, the MPs get a sitting allowance of Sh5,000 each.
The MPs also want the PSC, whose chair is Speaker Justin Muturi, to explain to them the progress of negotiations with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) on the review of members’ salaries, mileage allowance, car grant and other allowances.
The commission should consider giving full per diem and give members the option of securing their own accommodation, the MPs said.
This is after the committee last year undertook study visits to parliaments of India, New Zealand, and Zambia to establish the remuneration of members
Further, the MPs also want PSC to explain efforts it has made to designate one restaurant as an exclusive dining point for members as well as the status of the improvement of services of the catering unit, audit of the catering fund, and formation of catering fund regulation.
In addition, the legislators are also demanding that PSC briefs them on the progress made in the setting up of a second gymnasium on the ground floor in the new wing of Parliament Buildings by taking up part of the area reserved for parking and utilising it as a temporary gym.
In a report tabled by the Departmental Committee on Members Services and Facilities chaired by Nyaribari Masaba MP Ezekiel Ombaki, the committee claimed that PSC had failed to implement its resolutions.
The committee is seeking additional funding for at least one foreign travel as their budget is currently limited to only Sh800,000.
Committee members want an immediate report on legislative interventions, regulatory frameworks and policies on the improvement of services and facilities in Parliament and the well-being of MPs from the PSC.
Last year, the committee spent Sh13.6 million for foreign trips to benchmark on food quality and other services legislators get in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Botswana.
At the same time, the committee wants PSC to expedite the construction of the multi-storey office block estimated at Sh2.5 billion that has been under construction for the last five years.
The committee wants an open sky garden on the fourth floor of the building, designed to create an “open and vibrant place of leisure, offering visitors a rare chance to experience exquisitely landscaped gardens”. In the garden, the PSC has been asked to set aside spaces for gift shops and other financial services.
“The Parliamentary Service Commission should expedite the construction of the multi-storey block with a view to addressing office accommodation and committee rooms shortage within Parliament,” reads the report in part.
The proposed building comprises 26 floors, four basement storeys and tunnel linking it to Parliament. The pedestrian tunnel will enable members access three floors. It is intended to facilitate members move quickly to the chamber when the division bell is rang.
The building will have members offices that will occupy 19 floors with 319 offices for members, 21 committee rooms, restaurant on the 23rd floor, health club on the 24th and 25h floors, and the basement parking with a capacity of 350 cars. The ground floor will house a reception area and security operation spaces.
Last year, MPs adopted recommendations of the committee for a total overhaul of the catering department.