The Court of Appeal has quashed the Parliamentary Service Commission’s (PSC) decision to set Members of Parliament’s house allowances at Ksh250,000, against the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) recommendation.
In a ruling delivered by a three-judge bench and dated February 21, the Appellate Court also quashed the Parliamentary Commission’s decision that removed the limit for sitting allowances earned by each legislator.
The ruling followed an appeal filed by PSC which sought to stop the SRC from interfering with the payment of both house and sitting allowances to parliamentarians.
SRC had opposed the increment of the two allowances claiming that PSC approved the incentives outside the constitutional structure of remuneration.
The remuneration commission while appearing as respondents in the case filed by PSC, argued that the parliamentary commission acted outside the law by performing the functions that are exclusively vested in the SRC.
“PSC violated the provisions of Article 259 of the Constitution that provides the power of the PSC to pay MPs allowance in the circumstances of this case must be exercised only after the setting by or with the approval of SRC,” the remuneration commission told the court.
While dismissing the parliamentary commission’s petition, the court noted that the appeal had been compromised since parliamentarians had already begun receiving the allowances against the law.
Meanwhile, in its petition to the court, the parliamentary commission accused SRC of overstepping its mandate by attempting to control the number of sittings that MPs attend.
PSC also lamented that SRC’s actions were an infringement on its authority to manage parliamentary operations and remuneration.
In the judgment, the court found that SRC acted within its constitutional authority, and its actions were justified by budgetary realities to ensure that all remuneration decisions adhere to constitutional guidelines.
The court affirmed SRC’s exclusive authority to determine remuneration for State officers including MPs and Senators, thus, asserting the remuneration commission’s constitutional role of managing the public wage bill.
"Having come to the conclusion we have of this appeal, we find that the only order that commends itself to us is to dismiss this appeal, which we hereby do. We order that the appellants shall bear the costs of the appeal," the court declared.
