Tuesday, the 9th of October 2012 - News from State House indicates that President Mwai Kibaki has declined to assent to the Finance Amendment Bill 2012 that contained a controversial clause that would have allowed MPs in the current parliament to each walk away with Ksh 9.3 million of the taxpayers’ money once their terms end in January 2013.
In a carefully worded statement (link>>>) accompanying the news, the President said that the amendment to the Bill was ‘unconstitutional and untenable.’ Echoing the sentiments of many Kenyans who had rejected the bloated severance pay package, Kibaki also said that the amendment was poorly timed, coming as it did in the wake of strikes by teachers and doctors over meager pay;
“Coming shortly after the increment of salaries for teachers and doctors, the severance pay for Parliamentarians would lead to an unsustainable wage bill.”
The Bill was clandestinely passed through parliament on Thursday night at 10.30 pm. Shortly after it was passed, it emerged that the matter was not even included in the order paper for the day and was sneaked in at the final moment.
Kibaki’s refusal to assent to the Bill comes as Kenyans early today protested in the streets of Nairobi, asking the president to reject the Bill in its current form.
It’s not all good news though. The President has also seen it fit to assent to the amendment to the Elections Act that will allow the MPs to hop from one party to another until the 4th of January 2013. One step forward, another step backwards. The only takeaway here is Kenya is stuck.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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