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| President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) hands over the signed CDF Act 2013 to the Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich at State House[PHOTO: PSCU] |
By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU
Kenya: Members of Parliament, judges, magistrates and members of the County Assemblies require a referendum to amend the Constitution to delete their positions from the realm of State officers.
The Commission for the Implementation of theConstitution also termed the Constitution of Kenya (amendment) Bill — through which MPs want to pave the way to set their pay — as unconstitutional because it was not subjected to public comment and was never submitted to the commission for review.
Speaking at a meeting with journalists and editors at the Panafric Hotel Friday morning, the CIC vice chairperson Dr Elizabeth Muli, and commissioners Florence Omosa, Catherine Mumma and Imaana Laibuta said it was “illogical” for the MPs to try and alter the list of State officers, because, doing so, would alter the Constitution.
The CIC argued that the Bill, if approved, would spark a constitutional crisis because the roles of the Parliamentary Service Commission and that of the Judicial Service Commission will have to be altered to include the mandate to review, set and determine the terms of service of public officers under their respective jurisdiction.
If the MPs eventually remove themselves from that realm, then they will have to seek fresh mandate and take a fresh oath. That means that, the country will have to go back to the elections, to grant the MPs the fresh mandate to exercise the sovereign will of the people in the new job of deciding what they need to be paid.
“Can one be contracted as, say, a Chief Executive Officer and decide to change their position to Programme Officer without the permission of their employer? The answer is No!” said Omosa.
With just 30 days left before the Bill begins its life in the legislative kitchen, the CIC is worried that theMPs might go ahead and approve it, without care about the implications that the amendment will have on other articles of the Constitution and the wage bill.
The CIC wants to know if the judges and the members of County Assemblies back the controversial amendments that will allow them a blanket cheque to determine their perks regardless of the affordability.
Rubbished assertions
“This amendment cannot be seen to be just about salaries. It goes to the very heart of the Constitution,” said Dr Muli.
Dr Muli added that the CIC’s position was not that the Constitution should not be amended, but that amendments should serve the interest of the public and the greater good of the nation. She rubbished assertions by MPs that the Bill was meant to guarantee the independence of Parliament.
She said all State officers are paid through public funds, and if the wage bill has to be managed, then, the cadres of State officers included in the bill have to adhere to the pay as set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
“After March 4, they took an oath as State officers. There’s no other oath for MPs. They will need to go back and seek a fresh mandate from the people,” said the CIC vice chairperson.
The controversial Bill sponsored by Samuel Chepkonga, the chairperson of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, will affect at least 25 articles in the Constitution including those that touch on the role of Parliament; the sovereignty of the people, and the functions and nature of the independent commissions.
“If we need to make a change on the role of the PSC, then we will need an amendment to be done through a referendum,” said Omosa.
Public coffers
Similarly, Dr Omosa warned that if the MPs succeed in their scheme, the public wage bill was likely to balloon, and that they might even go ahead and circumvent article 210(3) to be exempted from paying tax on their income, something that will put a huge dent in the revenues of the country.
“We will need to re-write the Constitution if we remove some of the State officers from that category. The legitimacy of MPs to exercise oversight over the other State officers will also not exist and this will undermine the checks and balances that the people of Kenya sought to have over the Executive,” the CIC commissioner said.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission was formed to ensure that all the pay of all public servants is harmonised, with a full view of what was available in the public coffers.
Parliament returns next Tuesday to begin looking at the public submissions regarding the bill.
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