Ruto, Raila Teams Push to Extend Senators’ Term Length
Senate Minority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot proposed on Tuesday, February 20, that senators’ terms be extended from five to ten years to ensure equality and fairness in Parliament.
While presenting the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report on the House floor, Cheruiyot questioned why senators are paid the same as MPs despite having different job descriptions.
He went on to say that a senator has more responsibilities than an MP, so their pay should reflect that.
To correct this, Cheruiyot suggested that the most appropriate way to compensate the Senate is to extend a senator’s term.
“There is a proposal on how to counterbalance Parliament. A senator earns as much as an MP although geographically, you represent a higher population than an MP. There are more responsibilities that we have and are exclusive to the senate as opposed to the MPs,” he stated.
“There are good proposals that have been made and in which we can compensate the Senate. In other countries, the term for a senator is longer than that of others in lower Houses. There is the proposal to make the senate serve a longer term than the provided five years.”
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) reports that senators and MPs earn a monthly salary of Ksh710,000. Governors, on the other hand, earn Ksh924,000, while deputy governors are paid Ksh621,250.
The proposal seeks to extend senators’ terms to ten years for one term, rather than the current five.
The NADCO report was released last year after deliberations by a bipartisan team led by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah on behalf of the government and Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka on behalf of Azimio.
The team failed to reach an agreement on two contentious issues: the removal of the 16% Value Added Tax on fuel and the repeal of the Housing Levy.
Cheruiyot stated that other issues that were agreed upon included reconstituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) panel, boundary delimitation, and outstanding constitutional issues such as the cost of living and the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule.
“Aside from the NADCO report, we have attached various statutory instruments which will have to be considered individually. There are further policy propositions that we have decided on that as a committee we say that this doesn’t require Parliament to do anything as we have sufficient laws to govern it,” he noted.
Parliament is scheduled to debate the NADCO report. The outcome of these discussions could alter the course of Kenya’s political landscape.
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Ruto, Raila Teams Push to Extend Senators’ Term Length
