Kenya: Ministers of Parliament are spoiled children

The recent bill proposed in the Kenyan parliament that Ministers of Parliament  raise their own salaries has sparked off a furor, and even made the international press which have pointed out correctly, and with a touch of irony, that the best-paid parliamentarians, if the new package is approved, will be better paid than Barrack Obama and many European parliamentary leaders. The average raise would be a generous 25 to 30 per cent, something which this poor country cannot afford, which is quite uncalled-for and, in the circumstances of surrounding poverty, widespread unemployment and sporadic famine, nothing more than extreme scandal and unjustifiable greed.

MP’s, it seems, want to be doubly sure of filling their already bulging pockets before the Constitutional referendum takes place, on 4th August; like the little boy who can’t wait for supper-time, who eats sweets and chocolates along the way, and gets a negative reaction, indigestion. The Kenyan public is angry with this latest move, and it could even turn a good number away from voting in favour of the new Constitution, or at least make them think again.

The proposal has, however, come up against an unexpected hitch. The Finance Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, who would stand to gain from the new proposal by having his raise back-dated two years –one of few entitled to do so- has been honest enough to state the obvious. The country cannot afford it; it was not in the annual Budget, approved in parliament only a few days ago. Unless: the country borrows money, or taxes are raised. Kenyan MPs don’t pay income tax in any case, so approval of the proposal would mean directly squeezing the poor to pay the rich. Not a good marketing strategy for MPs who want the new Constitution passed, and who will stand for parliament again in two years’ time.

Like many Ministers of Parliament in the developing countries, most Kenyan MPs act like spoiled children. They are quite out of touch with the suffering population around them. Even when some go to their home constituencies, only occasionally at that, they will find the road tarmacked, piped water, electricity and DSTV– they have seen to that; while around them people eke out a living in miserable conditions unconnected to the outside world except by transistor radio and the local sub-chief, and entirely dependant on the right balance of rain and sunshine.

Donors and human rights groups have expressed dismay, but they are not without blame either. They are the ones who impose a life-style –brand-new four-wheel drives; duty-free shops; designer clothes; tax benefits; and all the whims and dreams of twenty-first century consumerist living that Kenyan MPs think they have equal right to too.
The bottom line: the poor stay poor and long-suffering, and swallow their humiliations, while the rich don’t even notice.

Martyn Drakard is Spero correspondent in Africa.