Kenya’s Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) forked out at least Sh305 million as allowances to lawmakers for committee sittings in one year, a new report shows.
According to the PSC annual report for the 2021/22 financial year, National Assembly committees had 1,371 sittings in the period under review.
Calculations by the Sunday Nation are based on the assumption that all committee meetings were held within the precincts of Parliament and every member attended the sessions.
The figure could be higher as most committees hold meetings outside Parliament. A retreat at a top hotel could take days.
Committee usually go with parliamentary staff who record and write the reports.
Other committees travel outside the country when investigating a matter. It means members are booked for flights and expensive hotels.
Some MPs belong to more than two committees, meaning they pocketed more in form allowances than the figures presented here.
According to the report, the Public Investments Committee had 125 committee sittings, the highest in the National Assembly.
This could be attributed to the huge number of parastatals whose audited reports the committee must examine.
The chairman of the committee, who is entitled to Sh15, 000 per sitting according to rates given by the Salaries and Remuneration Committee, may have pocketed Sh1.9 million.
The vice-chairman took home Sh1.5 million as he is entitled to Sh12, 000 per session.
In the 12th Parliament, membership of a committee stood at 19.
It means the remaining 17 ordinary members, each entitled to Sh7,500 per sitting, cumulatively earned Sh15, 937,500.
That brings the total to Sh19,337,500 spent by the PSC on allowances to MPs in the team during the period under review.
The Committee on Administration and National Security held 118 meetings, bringing the total allowances paid to members to Sh18,245,000.
The Public Accounts Committee had 109 meetings, with the chairman pocketing Sh1.6 million, vice-chairperson Sh1.3 million and other members Sh13,897,500 cumulatively.
Kenyans may have spent Sh16,797,500 on allowances for MPs in the Public Accounts Committee.
The Finance and National Planning team held 88 meetings, meaning its members took home Sh11,220,000.
The Agriculture and Livestock Committee had 86 sittings, with Sh11,950,000 being paid to members as allowances.
The amount includes Sh1.3 million for the chairman, Sh1 million to the vice-chairperson and Sh109,650,000 for the remaining 17 members.
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The National Assembly Health Committee held 82 meetings, getting at least Sh12,669,000 in allowances for MPs.
The Committee on National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) also held 82 meetings in the period under review, with members getting cumulative allowances of Sh12,669,000.
The Transport, Public Works and Housing team had 69 sittings with various agencies, spending Sh10,625,500 on allowances.
Of the amount, the chairman walked away with Sh1 million, vice-chairperson Sh828,000 and 17 members each getting Sh517,500.
The report says the Energy Committee called 60 meetings, with Sh9,270,000 million spent on lawmakers’ allowances.
The Lands Committee held 52 meetings. Some Sh8,034,000 was used on MPs’ allowances.
Other committees with many meetings were Environment and Natural Resources (49), translating to Sh7,570,500, Education (48), Labour and Social Welfare (42), Committee on Delegated Legislation (39), Communication and Innovation (37), Special Funds (36), Defence and Foreign Relations (36), Sports, Culture and Tourism (35), Trade Industry and Cooperatives (32) while Budget and Appropriation had 21 sittings.
Five National Assembly committees held less than 20 meetings in the period under review.
They are National Cohesion and Equal Opportunities which had 18, Justice and Legal Affairs (17), Constitution Implementation Oversight (17), Regional Integration (14), Ad Hoc Committee on Land and Defence (13), Committee on Powers and Privileges (12) while Members’ Service and Facilities and Broadcasting and Library each held six meetings.
Departmental committees conduct inquiries into subjects within their mandate. The inquiries are either on the committees’ volition or instigated by the House.
The report lists five key inquiries undertaken by the committees in the year under review.
They include inquiry into the causes and remedy of mass failure of students in the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination in Kilifi County and inquiry on the plight of Kenyans working in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia.
Other inquiries were rampant gaming and betting in the broadcast media, inquiry into the utilisation of the appropriated funds for Covid-19 and the Kenya Airways privately initiated investment proposal to the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA)
Departmental committees considered 268 questions, processing 173.
In the same year, a total of 83 requests for statement were processed by the committees.
The departmental committees considered 19 petitions but only tabled four in the House.
The Constitution allows Kenyans to petition public authorities to consider matters in their jurisdiction.
The report shows that the committees considered 12 bills, with the Budget and Appropriations team conserving five, NG-CDF Committee considering three, National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity and Constitution Implementation Oversight Committees considering two each.
During the period under review, departmental committees undertook 26 foreign study and benchmarking tours.
Locally, the committees had 46 inspection visits.
