Parliament Revives Bill To Increase Ex-MP's Pension By 3 Times

National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula, has allowed for the reintroduction of a bill to the 13th Parliament which seeks to increase the pension for former Members of Parliament (MPs) by three times.

Wetangula ruled that the Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2022 can be reintroduced in the new Parliament, which is among 46 Bills cleared to be discussed in the House.

The Bill which was published in June seeks to increase the pension from the current Ksh33,000 per month to Ksh100,000 per month.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta rejected a similar proposal in September 2020 for fear that it would add a Ksh444 million annual tax burden on taxpaying Kenyans.

The Bill explained that the proposed changes to the Parliamentary Pensions Act, 2002 will lift the fortunes of more than 375 former MPs.

“Despite serving the nation, some former Members of Parliament are languishing in poverty and there is [a] need to take care of their welfare,” reads the Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

The previous administration was seeking to reduce spending on the wage bill and free up cash to fund development projects and pay maturing loans.

Previous estimates had shown that the cost of sustaining the former lawmakers would have risen to Ksh15.075 million per month or Ksh180.9 million per year if the Bill is passed into law.

The proposed law further sought to backdate the new pension to July 1, 2010, in line with recommendations by a task force appointed to evaluate the lives of former MPs 10 years ago.

Chaired by retired Justice (Rtd) Akilano Akiwumi, the team recommended that 500 former MPs who served between 1984 and 2001 to be paid the equivalent of $1,000 as a lifetime pension and the payment is backdated to July 1, 2010.

The current law that governs pension for MPs stipulates that only lawmakers who serve for two terms or more are entitled to a monthly pension of at least Ksh125,000 for the rest of their lives.

Currently, the new MPs earn Ksh710,000 per month, just like Senators. The MPs are accustomed to a motor vehicle reimbursement of Ksh7.5 million to facilitate the purchase of a car with not more than 3000cc engine capacity.

MPs will be paid Ksh356,525 per month car maintenance allowance as well as a reimbursement of a claimable mileage of one return journey per week at the rate of Ksh116.63 per kilometre, which will depend on the vehicle's engine capacity of not more than 3000cc.

Cars parked at Parliament Buildings. /THE STAR