Serem team to renew battle with MCAs over pay as standoff rages

By LILLIAN ALUANGA-DELVAUX laluanSga@standardmedia.co.ke

Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) appear set for another round of battle with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

 MCAs and the SRC have been locked in a standoff for weeks over the former’s push for better terms. Members of County Assemblies are seeking a salary of Sh275,000 up from the current Sh79,000. The commission has reiterated the need for a re-evaluation of their jobs, a position challenged by MCAs who argue their role is defined in law.

The standoff poses the latest headache to the commission, and comes months after a similar tussle between it and Members of Parliament. Establishment of a Salaries and Remuneration commission is provided in the Constitution under Article 230. A major function of the commission is to set and regularly review the remuneration and benefits of all state officers, as well as advise the national and county government on the remuneration and benefits of all other public officers.

But the commission appears to have been consistently challenged, with MPs winning higher perks in a tussle that at one point saw legislators threaten to disband it. In the latest standoff, the County Assemblies’ leadership, who accused commission chair Ms Sarah Serem of insincerity on the matter, disowned what appeared to have been a deal hammered last week between a section of MCAs and the SRC.

The improved perks would have seen MCAs access a Sh2 million car loan and home mortgage of up to Sh3 million. Sitting allowances for chair, vice chair and members of committees would also be increased to Sh6,000, Sh5,000 and Sh3,000 respectively. Constitution Implementation Commission (CIC) chair Charles Nyachae maintains that the commission isn’t opposed to MCAs’ push for better terms but holds the view that they should continue serving the public as their request is being considered. Also weighing in on the debate is Transitional Authority Chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi, who says while it is true that service delivery was being affected by the current standoff, MCAs have legitimate concerns that should be addressed.

In an earlier interview, Tana River County Assembly Speaker Dr Abdi Nuh had argued that the law mandates County governments to be in charge of their affairs. Nuh, who chairs the County Speakers Forum, maintained that County Assembly Standing Orders provided for adjournment of sittings sine die, or indefinitely, for a period not exceeding three months, and that terming this a strike was a misreading of the law.

“Establishment of a Salaries Commission is provided in the Constitution and was among reforms to deny elected leaders the right to set their own salaries,” says Mars Group CEO Mwalimu Mati. He argues what has been playing out lately points to a commission still trying to find its feet, and facing resistance. “The Salaries Commission is a Constitutional body mandated to carry out certain functions. It would be unfortunate if it gives in to threats by elected officials and is reduced to only reviewing salaries of junior public officers, ” he says. “Even if there are threats to disband the commission there must be good reasons for doing so and if actualised, recourse can still be sought at the Supreme Court,” adds Mati. According to Mati, the Salaries Commission set a dangerous precedent by “caving in to blackmail” from MPs, thus finds itself in a tricky position in the pay dispute with MCAs.

 But Deputy Minority Leader Jakoyo Midiwo maintains the challenges SRC is facing go beyond the commission. “We need to have a salaries commission. But we failed to consider the cost of a new Constitution. We doubled the number of MPs. Wards are now big and their representatives need to be paid well. We have an increased political workforce but where does the SRC get the money to pay them?” he poses.

“We must address the huge wage bill once and for all. If we trimmed the number of ministers because we said they were too many, why can’t we also reduce the number of MPs to what we can afford to pay?”asks Midiwo. Commission on Administrative Justice Chair, Otiende Amollo, says its crucial to question whether it is right for higher ranking or elected officials to cajole the commission into giving in to their demands, given the current unsustainable wage bill.

MPs and the SRC, legislators voted to revoke gazette notices that had outlined salaries for state officers, where that of MPs had been pegged at Sh532,000.

The House had also initiated a process to send the salaries team home in a move termed ‘unconstitutional’ given that terms to warrant such action are spelt out in Article 251 of the Constitution.

LSK chair Eric Mutua says SRC should be left to do its work since it was deemed necessary to have an independent body to determine state and public officers’ salaries. He argues that even though Parliament succeeded in getting higher perks, it did not fully have its way, thus its move to amend the Constitution to ensure MPs will no longer have their salaries determined by SRC.

 Amollo maintains that SRC should be firm but more amiable to discussions where possible. “The standoffs threaten not just devolution, but the Constitution itself,” he warns.