MPs and Senators awarding themselves house allowances has elicited a lot of reactions. The move has been criticized by most Kenyans who are of the opinion that it is a greedy move.
Each of the 416 servant leaders received Sh2.25 million over and above their monthly pay in April, the backdated amount for the contentious allowance.
For both the Senate and the National Assembly, taxpayers will now be shouldering an extra burden of Sh104 million every month to house the legislators, who already have a superior and subsidized mortgage scheme.
When did you discover that the housing allowances had been paid? – @WaihigaMwaura
"We knew when it had already hit their (MPs) accounts…" – Lyn Mengich #Tonight pic.twitter.com/xVJgbikWkA
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) May 16, 2019
According to Salaries and Renumeration Commission (SRC) The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) paid MPs & senators house allowances unconstitutionally because it wasn’t within their mandate to do so.
Lyn Mengich: PSC is the body that made the decision to unconstitutionally pay both the MPs and senators so we are going after both parties (PSC & the state officers) because the MPs and senator know the constitution and know what the requirements are #Tonight pic.twitter.com/IFe6OzTKZ3
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) May 16, 2019
According to Lyn Mengich who was speaking to Citizen TV the constitution clearly established SRC as the only commission to set & review the salaries of all state officer.
Lyn Mengich has also expressed fear that MPs and Senators can go ahead and even add themselves more allowances since SRC does not control their payroll.
Will MPs get another round of house allowances? – @WaihigaMwaura
Lyn Mengich: Yes they will…
And there is nothing you can do about that? – @WaihigaMwaura
Lyn Mengich: Not as SRC, we do not run their (MPs) payroll; they run their own payroll #Tonight pic.twitter.com/v6KH9aXP2b
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) May 16, 2019