The recent bid by Kenya’s members of Parliament to give themselves hefty bonuses of $110,000 each after the legislature folds up, ahead of national elections in March next year has hit rock bottom.
It’s a story of how an expectant joy turned to gloom.
President Mwai Kibaki said he would not sign the bill if passed into law and his decision has put a brake on it, almost immediately.
Whether the legislators will ignore the warning or go ahead with their plans and cast caution to the wind remains to be seen.
Eyebrows were raised beyond the borders of Kenya over the issue making parliamentarians in neighbouring countries to look like paupers when they cast glances at their pay slips, to find out that what they are getting is just a little more than the bus fare home.
Analysts say that if the bonus had gone through for the 222 MPs, it would have created a gaping hole on the country’s money bag.
It is also apparent that the Kenyan public is in no mood to give their legislators a parting gift.
Many asked what had they done to deserve the hefty pay-off when just stepping out from the precincts of the legislature, there are slums and depressed areas that would make many weep, as to why the lawmakers were looking skywards and not on the level..
One worker (wananchi) I can recall when hearing the news of the payoff startled, ”they have the nerve. We should even ask them to refund all the monies they have collected as salaries during the past five years for not legislating in our interest.”
The overzealousness aside, President Kibaki whose retirement time is up was credited by Kenyans of all stripes for bringing the kite down saying ”the extra pay is not only unconstitutional but untenable given Kenya’s economic circumstances.”
The pay hike if it had gone through, would have been the last straw that would have broken the camel’s back
But as lawyers depend on precedence, some legislators said they had picked up the idea of pay hike from the fatty rewards Kibaki is entitled to, when he retires after ten years in office this year.
He will have a staff of 38, with12 of them security people under the Presidential Retirement Benefit Act of 2003. Thrown in is a 2,500 dollar entertainment allowance and a house allowance of 3,600 dollars, fuel allowance of $2,500 dollars and $3,600 dollars to cover utility bills.
If you are still reading this piece without blinking, Kibaki will have access to four new cars , mainly trendy four-wheelers replaceable every three years and a one-time round up of $201,000 dollars gratuity payoff and annual payment of $144,000 dollars for the rest of the president’s life.
Credible economists acknowledged that the economy of Kenya encourages big spenders and the bouyancy of it, comes mainly from the booming tourist sector jumpstart by flourishing export of coffee, tea and maize as well as minerals.
The country’s political scene remains chaotic with at least four leading politicians already indicted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague on war crimes charges.
Despite these frosty clouds, the country remains embroiled in tribal clashes,and murders and a frequency of al-shabaab attacks in retaliation of Kenyan troops in Somalia.
It puts the country in a tricky dick situation, confessed a social media analyst conversant with the environment.
Although elections are not due until March next year, the buildup of antagonism has sent goose flesh on those outside Kenya, who feared that the country risks going up in flames.
Former UN Secretary-general Kofi Anan recently said he ”fears for Kenya” while ICC’s chief prosecutor Besouda made a visit the other day ”just to check things out.”
Observers are perplexed as to why things are turning out so coloured in Kenya. Is it that there is too much money in the pockets of the top class that other things are eroded?
Despite the uneven trend, plans for the elections are on the swing with a presidential debate slated for November 26, which the organizers say would be broadcast by at least eight TV and 32 radio stations. Other debates have been pegged for January 14 and February 11 next year.
Whether the country stands on slippery ground, would be known by then but politicians of whatever shape or form should be cautioned by the swahili proverb ‘stop the talking, get on with the job as no sane man should test the depth of the river with two feet’.
Whatever the case, Kenya needs to start healing itself to ensure that the agonies of its past, need not be lost in the tumble
By Rod Mac-Johnson
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