Duale vowed to lobby the House to ensure a pledge President Uhuru Kenyatta made at a retreat for MCAs in Mombasa last month is fulfilled.
“From today, I will fight to ensure that MCAs get a car grant. I want to tell Sarah Serem that under Article 10 of the Constitution, she cannot give a car grant to MPs and deny the MCAs a grant. She must give it, she has no choice,” he said as the House began debating the President’s State of the Nation Address.
He argued that the MCAs deserve similar privileges to their National Assembly and Senate counterparts because they legislate at the county level.
He explained that Members of Parliament and MCAs were elected into office by the same electorate and the rules governing their benefits should therefore not be discriminatory.
Serem has opposed the proposal to give car grants to MCAs amounting to Sh6 billion stating that it is unattainable especially at this time the country is struggling with a bloated wage bill.
MCAs are currently entitled to a Sh2 million car loan to be paid back on a three percent interest rate within their term in office.
MPs on the other hand are able to access a Sh5 million car grant which MCAs have argued they also deserve as they too carry out legislative functions.
The SRC is currently conducting a 10-day countrywide public debate on wage bill sustainability that will enable the commission develop a remuneration policy which will be adopted by the Government.