I have been keenly following the MPs’ pay debate. The whole matter has now boiled down to a contest between the country on one side and MPs’ clever obfuscation to justify their desire to sink their long proboscis into the national coffers, again.
By the time of writing this, even the President seemed to be against the MPs’ hell-for-leather rush to have the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) effect the ‘self-awarded’ pay hike.
There is a catch, though. Should the PSC go ahead and effect the pay, its members, who include the Speaker, will likely face a legal suit that could have them surcharged for ‘unconstitutionally’ increasing public officers’ pay.
We have all heard stories on how the honourable worthies now sleep in dinghy lodgings whenever they travel, but still, many of us are unable to believe these are the same people who traversed villages and swore at every funeral and chief’s baraza that this time round they would move away from the politics of self-enrichment to servant leadership.
They wowed us at rallies and promised that the primary reason they were seeking elective office was to ensure that national resources would henceforth be directed to development and poverty eradication, and not an ambitious bid to join the millionaires’ club.
The hypocrisy of it all reminds you of that age-old story of the Scorpion and the Frog. One fine morning, Scorpion was standing on top of a rock near a swollen river when he saw Frog. “Good morning Mr Frog,” he said, cheerily. “Would you kindly ferry me across the river?”
Frog, not unexpectedly, rolled his eyes. “Forget it, man. I know you will sting me!” Frog protested.
“I have changed, believe me,” Scorpion beseeched.
And so Frog forgot the past and asked Scorpion to hop onto his back, and off they cruised across the river.
A few yards to the other side, Scorpion sunk his teeth into Frog’s back. “Ouch! You said you would not sting me,” Frog wailed.
“But I am a scorpion. A real scorpion must sting,” answered Scorpion, smugly. Lesson? People must be prepared to live with the consequences of their choices.Now, we put in place the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to make it impossible for MPs to increase their pay. This came after we realised that, just like a scorpion must sting, MPs would always increase their pay given a chance.
That said, however, we must move the sermon on austerity measures beyond MPs’ pay
First off, we have appointed many commissioners, some who earn more than the President. Why not let those who are not fully engaged serve on part-time basis and draw an allowance? It is instructive that MPs are now saying that even the Deputy President spent millions in the recent controversial luxury jet saga and that the commissioners breathing down their necks enjoy hefty salaries and guzzlers, even as some earn from other jobs! Now, I do not like this me-too way of doing things – for two wrongs never made a right – but I think there is a poignant point there.
It would make no sense to lower MPs pay and blow away the savings in other wasteful ways.
We need to ensure every single coin is accounted for and put into good use.
Already, there are complaints that we have started off on the wrong budgetary footing.
The allocation we have given to agriculture, health and other critical dockets, experts argue, makes a mockery of the ambitious goals we have set ourselves as a country. In other words, we need more money, which we must put where our mouth is. Thus, a holistic look at Government expenditure is necessary so as to identify wasteful leakages through which we lose billions of shillings, as President Uhuru admitted when he was Finance Minister. The MPs’ pay, methinks, should just be a starting point.
The writer is Revise Editor for County Weekly
By the time of writing this, even the President seemed to be against the MPs’ hell-for-leather rush to have the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) effect the ‘self-awarded’ pay hike.
There is a catch, though. Should the PSC go ahead and effect the pay, its members, who include the Speaker, will likely face a legal suit that could have them surcharged for ‘unconstitutionally’ increasing public officers’ pay.
We have all heard stories on how the honourable worthies now sleep in dinghy lodgings whenever they travel, but still, many of us are unable to believe these are the same people who traversed villages and swore at every funeral and chief’s baraza that this time round they would move away from the politics of self-enrichment to servant leadership.
They wowed us at rallies and promised that the primary reason they were seeking elective office was to ensure that national resources would henceforth be directed to development and poverty eradication, and not an ambitious bid to join the millionaires’ club.
The hypocrisy of it all reminds you of that age-old story of the Scorpion and the Frog. One fine morning, Scorpion was standing on top of a rock near a swollen river when he saw Frog. “Good morning Mr Frog,” he said, cheerily. “Would you kindly ferry me across the river?”
Frog, not unexpectedly, rolled his eyes. “Forget it, man. I know you will sting me!” Frog protested.
“I have changed, believe me,” Scorpion beseeched.
And so Frog forgot the past and asked Scorpion to hop onto his back, and off they cruised across the river.
A few yards to the other side, Scorpion sunk his teeth into Frog’s back. “Ouch! You said you would not sting me,” Frog wailed.
“But I am a scorpion. A real scorpion must sting,” answered Scorpion, smugly. Lesson? People must be prepared to live with the consequences of their choices.Now, we put in place the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to make it impossible for MPs to increase their pay. This came after we realised that, just like a scorpion must sting, MPs would always increase their pay given a chance.
That said, however, we must move the sermon on austerity measures beyond MPs’ pay
First off, we have appointed many commissioners, some who earn more than the President. Why not let those who are not fully engaged serve on part-time basis and draw an allowance? It is instructive that MPs are now saying that even the Deputy President spent millions in the recent controversial luxury jet saga and that the commissioners breathing down their necks enjoy hefty salaries and guzzlers, even as some earn from other jobs! Now, I do not like this me-too way of doing things – for two wrongs never made a right – but I think there is a poignant point there.
It would make no sense to lower MPs pay and blow away the savings in other wasteful ways.
We need to ensure every single coin is accounted for and put into good use.
Already, there are complaints that we have started off on the wrong budgetary footing.
The allocation we have given to agriculture, health and other critical dockets, experts argue, makes a mockery of the ambitious goals we have set ourselves as a country. In other words, we need more money, which we must put where our mouth is. Thus, a holistic look at Government expenditure is necessary so as to identify wasteful leakages through which we lose billions of shillings, as President Uhuru admitted when he was Finance Minister. The MPs’ pay, methinks, should just be a starting point.
The writer is Revise Editor for County Weekly
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