The nationwide wave of youth-led protests has once again brought under scrutiny the wastage in public service, with calls for a relook into the salaries of top earners including lawmakers.
MPs are some of the most pampered in the public payroll, with fat allowances, staff at their beck and call and other elite privileges during and after their time in office.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna last week exposed the extravagance in exaggerated allocations running into millions of shillings - some going unused during the entire five-year term.
The fist-term lawmaker, who is the Senate deputy minority whip, cited the amount loaded into his Electronic Toll Collection.
“I was shocked at the amount of money that is on my ETC card for my parliamentary car. As of this morning, when I used that same car to come here, there is Sh377,000 on my ETC card," Sifuna said.
“I don't need all that money. Even if I drove up and down the expressway for a year, I would never exhaust the amount. We must do this so that we demonstrate to the people that we are serious."
ETC is only used by legislators to access the 27km expressway that links Nairobi CBD with Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
These expenses, shouldered by the taxpayers, are among the costs informing tax hikes that forced Kenyans to the streets in deadly demonstrations that claimed at least 41 lives.
The revelations reinforce the widespread belief that the country’s MPs are amongst the highest paid compared to their counterparts in the region, if not globally.
A 2013 study by the UK-based Independent Parliamentary Standard Authority and the International Monetary Fund ranked Kenya’s legislators the second highest paid after Nigerians.
MPs in Ghana, Indonesia and South Africa trail their Kenyan counterparts.
Kenyan MPs were found to take home more than their counterparts in the United States, Japan and Britain.
An MP from the far-flung Northeastern region attending all committee meetings and lucky enough to hold a leadership position can comfortably take home up to Sh2.5 million every month.
The figure can hit Sh3 million in a month he lands a foreign trip to Australia, Dubai or the United States.
MPs are entitled to a monthly salary of Sh725,502 inclusive of Sh435,301 basic salary and a house allowance of Sh150,000.
The pay goes up for the speakers who earn Sh1.18 million, consisting of Sh711,196 basic pay and Sh250,000 in house allowance.
Deputy speakers in both houses take home Sh948,261, broken down to Sh568,957 basic pay and an enhanced house allowance of Sh200,000.
Leaders of majority and minority are paid a monthly cumulative salary of Sh784,768.
The leadership - speakers, majority and minority leaders and whips - are further entitled to a monthly special duty allowance of up to Sh150,000 depending on seniority.
MPs also get additional pay pegged on the number of times they attend committee sittings.
Committee members pocket Sh7,500 for every sitting, capped at Sh120,000 per month.
Chairpersons of committees and their deputies, however, have enhanced allowances of Sh15,000 per sitting to Sh240,000 and Sh12,000 per sitting, respectively, to a maximum of Sh192,000 per month.
Also ballooning the lawmaker’s take-home pay are the millions they receive for mileage claims, paid every month.
MPs are presumed to travel every weekend to their constituencies even though that is not always the case.
This has been largely abused with lawmakers making claims for fictitious travel.
A 2022-23 audit revealed large-scale abuse of the mileage millions, with Auditor General Nancy Gathungu saying most of the claims lacked supporting documents.
Under the current system, an MP is reimbursed a claimable mileage of one return journey in a week from the National Assembly (Nairobi) to his or her constituency at the rate of Sh152.6 per kilometre.
MPs can claim a reimbursable monthly maximum of as much as Sh462,887 for distances up to 350km.
For distances longer than 350km, MPs are paid based on actual distance times the mileage rate of Sh152.6 per kilometre.
For instance, the Mandera East MP would pocket Sh1.6 million under the rate approved by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission. The constituency is 2,260km from Nairobi.
This means an MP from a far-flung area like Mandera East can easily pocket Sh2,356,253 pay from mileage and salary alone each month.
The figure may rise to Sh2.5 million if he or she holds any leadership position in the House or its committees.
Public Accounts Committee chairman John Mbadi in an interview with the Star admitted that some allowances are exaggerated, given the state of the country’s economy.
“I cannot be a liar to tell you that salaries of Kenyan MPs are not high. If you look at our economy, the salary of an MP is high. It is not so sustainable,” Mbadi said.
“Although in real terms our salary is shrinking, it has not been adjusted for a while but even this one that is shrinking is still high with our economy.”
Mbadi served in the the last Parliament as Leader of Minority.
Apart from the monthly allowances, the lawmakers continue to enjoy some of the world class treatment including one of the best medical covers in the country.
In their wellness card, they receive a generous medical allowance for themselves, their spouses and as many as five children younger than 25 years.
The lawmakers are also entitled to superior medical cover of as much as Sh10 million for inpatient and Sh300,000 for outpatient care.
The cover also includes Sh150,000 for maternity, Sh100,000 for dental services and similar amount for eye treatment.
In addition to the lucrative allowances, MPs also enjoy a Sh5 million official grant scheme to buy luxury cars every five-year term and a personal car loan from the government of as much as Sh8 million repayable at three per cent interest.
Speakers receive up to Sh40 million in mortgage and up to Sh10 million car loan.
“We take up things that are supposed to be provided publicly, we are sorting out privately. The government cannot provide medical care and other social services like fees, so we open our gates to the electorate,” Mbadi said in trying to justify the pay.
"If we fix the social system in the country then MPs should even have a 50 per cent salary cut.”
The nominated MP also decried the level of representation that he noted is too high.
Kenyans are currently represented by 349 MPs in the National Assembly and 67 at the Senate.
There are 1,450 members of county assemblies in the 47 devolved units.