{"id":107825,"date":"2025-01-16T10:03:38","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T10:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/01\/16\/dont-become-our-adversaries-mps-tells-new-src-following-approval\/"},"modified":"2025-01-16T10:03:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T10:03:38","slug":"dont-become-our-adversaries-mps-tells-new-src-following-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/dont-become-our-adversaries-mps-tells-new-src-following-approval\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t become our adversaries, MPs tells new SRC following approval"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 16 \u2013 The third seven-member panel of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), chaired by Samuel Chepkwony, is set to take oath of office after legislators approved members nominations. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0The approval follows vetting by the National Assembly Labour Committee, led by Eric Muchangi.<\/p>\n

The House endorsed the committee\u2019s report amidst warnings to the SRC to avoid antagonizing Parliament in executing its six-year constitutional mandate.<\/p>\n

During the debate, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung\u2019wah criticized the previous SRC, chaired by Lyn Mengich, accusing it of making antagonistic and populist decisions.<\/p>\n

He particularly faulted the gazettement of an annual increment of MPs\u2019 salaries during a period of public discontent over the high cost of living and the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing of that gazette notice was highly suspect. It was purely aimed at playing populist politics, pandering to public sentiment, and further poisoning Kenyans against Members of Parliament,\u201d Ichung\u2019wah stated.<\/p>\n

He emphasized the need for consultative decision-making to avoid populism and ensure equitable remuneration for public servants, including MPs and the judiciary.<\/p>\n

Ichung\u2019wah revealed that there had been calls to disband the constitutional commission due to its perceived antagonism toward high-ranking public servants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the commission to stay because we need balance in managing public affairs, especially on personnel and remuneration. But this must be done fairly and thoughtfully,\u201d the Majority Leader said.<\/p>\n

Minority Leader Junet Mohammed echoed these sentiments, arguing that past commissions had been misguided into positioning themselves as adversaries of Parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a misconception that this commission was created to fight politicians. Somebody has misadvised them. Once approved, they start with Parliament, thinking that\u2019s their mandate,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n

The Suna East MP criticized the SRC for what he termed as unfair treatment of MPs, noting the financial burden legislators bear in facilitating societal obligations such as burials and weddings, often using personal funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a public service. Whatever you earn here belongs to the public. It is spent on healthcare, bursaries, transport, weddings, and other public needs. No MP uses their salary solely for personal or family needs,\u201d Junet said.<\/p>\n

Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo urged the incoming Chepkwony-led team to support union efforts and collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), rather than hindering them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a trend where CBAs are negotiated and then ignored, with the Commission cited as the stumbling block. I urge the SRC to collaborate with unions to ensure agreements are honored,\u201d Amollo stated.<\/p>\n

He also cautioned Parliament\u2019s representatives on the SRC to advocate for legislators\u2019 welfare and respect the authority of the House.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they fail to represent our interests, they undermine the entities that sent them. Those we send to the Commission must consult with and respect Parliament,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo called on the new SRC to address salary disparities among low-cadre public servants across national and county governments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were significant complaints about the previous SRC\u2019s inability to harmonize salaries within and across government arms. Disparities, particularly among security forces, remain unexplained,\u201d Oundo said.<\/p>\n

Those approved by the house include Maj Gen (Rtd) Martin Kizito Ong\u2019oyi, who is the nominee of the Defence Council.<\/p>\n

Others are Mohamed Aden Abdi (nominee of the Senate on behalf of County Governments); Jane Gatakaa Njage (nominee of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and Leonid Ashindu (nominee of the Association of Professional Societies in East Africa (APSEA).<\/p>\n

Also on the list is Dr Gilda Odera (nominee of the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and Dr Geoffrey Apollo Omondi (nominee of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (Cotu).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 16 \u2013 The third seven-member panel of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), chaired by Samuel Chepkwony, is set to take oath of office after legislators approved members nominations. \u00a0The approval follows vetting by the National Assembly Labour Committee, led by Eric Muchangi. The House endorsed the committee\u2019s report amidst warnings to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107825\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}