COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has gone against the mood of many Kenyans to advocate for MPs' pay rise.
While addressing a press conference on Monday, Atwoli stated that lawmakers were justified to get a salary increase due to the many responsibilities they have.
He explained that many constituents who constantly ask for money from the legislators had led them to look for funds using illegal means.
“If you elect me and you expect hand-outs from me, then I expect you to pay me well,” stated Atwoli.
“Unless Kenyans change their culture of converting honourable MPs into their private banks, then they are justified in their quest to demand more allowances,” he added.
He argued that if an MP attended a fundraiser and contributed Ksh 3,000, people would look down on them and hence needed more money to make hefty donations.
Atwoli further urged Kenyans to engage in self-sustaining activities such as farming instead of depending on their leaders as sources of their livelihood.
"God gave us good climatic condition; we can do other things. We can go to those small acreages of our land, produce potatoes and sell on the market and get something small… other than turning our MPs into medical insurance,” he advised.
The trade unionist's remarks come even as Kenyans have expressed anger at MPs for awarding themselves Ksh 250,000 house allowances despite having a mortgage of up to Ksh20 million.
Each legislator is reported to have pocketed Ksh2.25 million in April as a combined amount for the house allowance backdated from August 2018 when the Parliamentary Service Commission approved the budget.
