Village elders to earn Sh7, 000 monthly, if Bill passes

Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse.[Edward Kiplimo,Standard]

Village elders could soon be paid Sh7,000 per month if the amendment bill proposed by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse is adopted.

The MP is seeking the adoption and operationalization of the remuneration.

Mutuse proposed a Sh7,000 monthly package for the 45,000 volunteer village elders spread across 9,045 sub-locations in the country. Each sub-location, under an assistant chief, will have five village units.

He was speaking when he appeared before the Budget and Appropriation Committee (BAC) to present the cost implications of the National Government Coordinating Amendment Bill, 2023.

The Kibwezi lawmaker suggested an allowance be based on a remunerative arrangement "so that those elders who are beyond retirement age but still very useful are not disadvantaged."

"I have proposed a sitting allowance of Sh1,000 per meeting for one meeting per week, which amounts to Sh4,000 monthly, Sh500 for transport to and from the meeting, amounting to Sh2,000 monthly, and Sh1,000 monthly for airtime to facilitate communication, amounting to a total of Sh7,000 for each village head monthly," said Mutuse.

The first-term lawmaker tabled the motion in Parliament last year, which was unanimously passed.

The motion also sought amendments to sections 14 and 15 of the National Government Coordinating Act to recognize existing villages as National Government administrative units and pay village heads as the administrative heads of the unit.

If operationalized, Mutuse's proposal will cost taxpayers about Sh4.6 billion in the first year.

The Bill, which is supposed to undergo first reading, seeks to have an Assistant Chief command five villages.

"I am happy that the BAC is convinced, as I am, that this is not too much to ask given the important roles the elders play in our community," said Mutuse before the Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro-led committee.

The National Assembly is set to pass the amendments once published.

According to Mutuse, the Ministry of Interior would fast-track the budget requirements in its estimates so that the village elders can be paid by the latest June 2024.

"Paying village heads is the most bottom-up of all government initiatives, and I expect favorable treatment of this proposal by the Executive," said Mutuse.

Vice-chairperson of the Budget and Appropriation committee, Mary Emasse, who chaired the committee meeting, said that the approval of the Bill was long overdue since the elders have been discharging their services on a pro-bono basis since independence.