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        Kenyan High Court to Hear Arguments Against Parliament Pay Raise

   by VOA News

   The Kenyan High Court will hear complaints Friday from civil society
   organizations opposing a controversial salary increase for members of
   parliament.
   Kenyan lawmakers, already among the world's highest paid, voted
   unanimously this week to raise their own salaries to the equivalent of
   about $10,000 a month.
   The vote reversed an earlier decision by a remuneration commission that
   cut their annual salaries from about $126,000 to $78,000 as part of an
   effort to trim the government's public sector wage bill.
   Apollo Mboya, head of the Kenyan Law Society, one of the groups
   challenging the lawmakers' decision, said Kenya's constitution no
   longer allows lawmakers to set their own pay.
   "What we have put in the petition seeks to declare that the Salaries
   and Remuneration Commission is the constitutionally mandated
   institution that can set salaries for public officers and state
   officers in Kenya," Mboya said. "Nobody should enforce the salary
   demands the MPs have awarded themselves, irregularly and against the
   constitution."
   On Thursday, a court ruling temporarily blocked the lawmakers'
   increased pay, at least until the court hears the challenge on Friday.
   Mboya said he wants the court to permanently block parliament's
   decision.
   Lawmakers sid they need the higher salaries so they can give to
   charitable organizations and help poverty-stricken constituents. Some
   also said it makes them less vulnerable to bribes.
   Protests
   But critics said the legislators' salary demands are greedy, especially
   in a country where many live in poverty. In a recent display of
   disgust, protesters released dozens of pigs at the entrance to
   parliament.
   One member of parliament, James Opiyo Wandayi, told VOA the protesters
   do not understand the issues. He pointed out that, unlike in previous
   parliaments, lawmakers are now required to pay taxes.
   "The Parliamentarian Service Commission, which is in charge of members
   of parliament and other staff of parliament, needs to make a
   clarification or to do a sensitization [campaign] so the public may
   come to understand the issues as they are," Wandayi noted. "Because
   what is not being told is that the legislators this time around, unlike
   in the past, are obligated to pay taxes just like any other member of
   the public."
   Kenya's newly elected president, Uhuru Kenyatta, has urged lawmakers to
   accept the pay reduction, saying he and the members of his office have
   already done so. He said lawmakers should focus on growing the economy
   before demanding any further pay increases.
   Last month, Kenyatta said half of the revenue collected by the
   government went to pay for government salaries. Kenya spends 12 percent
   of gross domestic product on public wages, well above the
   internationally accepted level.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/kenyan-high-court-to-hear-arguments-a
   gainst-parliament-pay-raise/1672011.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/kenyan-high-court-to-hear-arguments-against-parliament-pay-raise/1672011.html