Over 12,000 former councillors pushing for Sh2.6 billion payments will now have to wait longer for the windfall, Treasury CS Njunguna Ndungú has said.
The CS has disclosed that the fate of the lot, which served between 1963 and 2012, lies with President William Ruto’s Cabinet.
Ndungú explained that even though the payments were cleared by the previous Cabinet, the current one has to be appraised of the matter and a fresh request made.
“The National Treasury jointly with the Ministry of Labour has drawn a Cabinet memorandum for transmission to the Cabinet, subject to the decision of the Cabinet, the National Treasury will factor the payment estimated at Sh2.6 billion in the 2023-24 financial year budget,” Ndungu said.
The CS told the Senate Labour and Social Welfare Committee the payment consisted of Sh2.3 billion being gratuity payment for 11,919 former councillors who served less than four continuous terms.
Some Sh218 million for some 328 councillors who served for four or more continuous terms.
They have been pushing for a one-off gratuity and monthly payments, a demand that would have seen the taxpayers raise Sh22 billion for the former councillors.
The lot had demanded an Sh1.5 million one-off payment and Sh30, 000 monthly pensions.
In 2021, the then Treasury CS Ukur Yatani rejected the demand citing the shrinking revenues due to under collections by the taxman.
He had said all former councillors who served for more than four terms-about 328-will be paid Sh664,000 each in a one-off payment while those who served for less than four terms-11,919-will be paid Sh200,000 each.
CS Ndungu told the West Pokot Senator Julius Murgor that the government would consider enrolling the councillors and their spouses on NHIF to benefit from the scheme.
He further disclosed that the two ministries in consultation with relevant stakeholders will facilitate discussion on the proposal for the inclusion of the former councillors in the universal health coverage under the purview of NHIF.
On her part, Labour CS Florence Bore told the committee that former councillors who are over 70 years are eligible for enrolment into the Inua Jamii Cash Transfer programme.
“Should resources be allocated to the programme, the enrolment process will be announced by the ministry and therefore eligible former councillors will be invited to avail themselves for registration,” Bore said.
The plight of the councillors was revealed after Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua had sought a statement on the status of implementation of the payments by the Treasury as resolved by the Senate on October 18, 2018.
The recommendation was based on recommendations of the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare on a Petition by ex-councillors on the one-off token of Sh200,000 each.
Wambua wanted to know whether the government would consider enrolling the former councillors and their spouses on the National Hospital Insurance Fund scheme to benefit from treatment in their respective county health facilities.
At Independence, former councillors earned Sh60, in 1983 they were earning Sh1,200, in 2012 they were earning Sh25,000 despite the heavy financial needs of the people they represented.
Former Councillor's Forum vice chairman William Komen disclosed that this year alone, 30 former councillors have died across the country.
“We pray that our government will consider this matter as urgent since it is not fair for us to be coming to Nairobi every now and then to pursue a matter which only requires the commitment of the national treasury to dispense with, we ask the President to intervene,” Komen said.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)