NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 20 – Prime Minister Raila Odinga has told Parliament that the government will pay the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution hefty salaries that exceed his own income, but warned that the precedent set will not apply to other commissions.
Mr Odinga explained to the House that the joint committee from the Public Service Commission and the Treasury which had negotiated the exorbitant salaries has justified the hefty pay to additional responsibilities that the nine-man commission will be undertaking.
The team has recommended that CIC chairperson Charles Nyachae be paid Sh1.24 million a month inclusive of house, entertainment, domestic staff and extraneous allowances.
“We have decided that we are going to respect the law to the letter as passed by this Parliament. We will not engage anymore in bargaining or in any kind of wrangling. We will pay the money the way it is,” he said.
In addition, the PSC proposed that the Vice Chairperson Elizabeth Muli, be paid Sh1.12 million monthly and Sh50,000 a year as leave allowance.
The other commissioners, it was proposed, should be paid Sh1.09 million and an annual leave allowance of Sh50,000.
All commissioners will also be entitled to medical cover and official transport under the PSC’s proposed terms and conditions for the CIC team.
The Treasury and the PSC had struck the salary deal with CIC on May 11 this year, but Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura wrote to CIC and vetoed the agreement saying the proposed salary scales are too high for the Government.
The terms offered fall within PSC’s Band A1 set out in the Constitutional Offices Remuneration Act (2009) ranging between Sh399,440 and Sh916,500 per month with allowances totalling Sh442,000.
The CIC insisted the issue of their remuneration was strictly a matter between them, the Treasury and PSC, and accused Mr Muthaura of flouting Section 17 of the CIC Act in blocking the proposed pay structure.
They suggested that Mr Muthaura might be acting at the behest of anti-reformers within Government to frustrate implementation of the Constitution.
Mr Odinga explained to the House that the joint committee from the Public Service Commission and the Treasury which had negotiated the exorbitant salaries had justified hefty pay to the added responsibilities that the nine-member commission will be undertaking.
“We have a situation where the commissioners are earning more than MPs, Cabinet Ministers, more than even the Prime Minister but we want to be clear that this is a one term offer that refers only to this Commission,” he said.
The Premier has however agreed with Mr Muthaura’s assessment that the salaries were unreasonable and a big burden on the taxpayer.
“The government has agreed to pay the commissioners whatever they were demanding, and in return the government has a right to demand value for money. The government therefore expects this commission to work full time and deliver on time,” asserted the Prime Minister.
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