A member of County Assembly (MCA) would earn nearly Sh400,000 in addition to receiving a development budget if proposals from the new County Assemblies Forum (CAF) are approved.
MCAs currently receive a monthly wage of Sh144,376 and a proposed increase would almost triple the amount.
The 2,100 MCAs demanding for salary increase, which mirrors 416 Members of Parliament demand in a similar vein, will further exacerbate the nation’s wage bill crisis at a time when scarce public resources are also being sucked dry by the repayment of a crippling public debt.
According to Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge, for every shilling in income collected, around 40 per cent goes toward debt servicing, which translates to Sh40 for every Sh100 in revenue collected.
This means that if the MCAs get their way, the taxpayer will pay an additional Sh32 billion over the course of the five-year term, with the cost increasing once the MPs’ salary raise is taken into account.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission estimates that the total cost of public wages for the 2019–2020 fiscal year was Sh944 billion.
This was close to 60per cent of the Sh1.6trillion in government revenue for the same time period.
The bill has been rising in part due to generous benefits received by government workers as well as open fraud, like the alleged Sh35 billion taken from the counties through the use of ghost employees.
Philemon Sabulei, who was elected with no opposition to run CAF, stated that MPs and MCAs are paid very differently despite playing similar duties.
“MPs get 43 per cent of the salary of the Head of State, while MCAs get a paltry 16 per cent of the governor’s salary. It is time we stop this blatant discrimination and violation of the rules of equity,” said Sabulei.
When questioned about the new pay review initiative by MCAs, SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich noted that the ward representatives were aware of their monthly compensation before the election.
“The correct position (on MCAs pay, its calculation, and other benefits) is as per the Gazette notification of July 2022,” Mengich said.
Governors are entitled to a gross monthly compensation of Sh924,000, which includes their basic salary of Sh554,400 and their housing allowance of Sh200,000, as per SRC.
Additionally, the governors have access to Sh10million for inpatient medical insurance, Sh300,000 for outpatient insurance, Sh150,000 for maternity insurance, and Sh75,000 apiece for dental and optical insurance.
Also, they have access to a car loan of up to Sh10million and a mortgage of up to Sh40million.
At the same time, MCAs have a Sh3million hospital insurance, a Sh200,000 outpatient plan, a Sh100,000 maternity policy, and a Sh50,000 dental and optical cover, respectively.
The MCAs’ push comes as MPs and SRC are at odds over compensation, with the lawmakers requesting the reinstatement of sitting allowances that SRC eliminated earlier this year.
