Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino alias Paul Ongili, on Thursday, wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi seeking to compel the National Police Service Commission to increase the salaries of police officers.
In a draft bill, the outspoken MP wants the current National Police Service Act amended to increase the allowances of all police officers based on the nature of their work.
According to Babu, there needs to be a mechanism for rewarding police officers who go the extra mile by putting their lives on the line every day to protect Kenyans and their property.
He argues that the officers go through "dangerous situations and deal with dangerous people hence making their job hard and dangerous.
The legislator also noted that huge sacco deductions have left a majority of officers with as little as Ksh50 only, while others even get negative pay credit to the sacco's accounts.
He, therefore, wants the National Police Service Commission to desist from deducting a huge chunk of their pay to the Saccos.
Furthermore, Babu stated that the proposed amendments sought to provide a mechanism whereby the officers with higher education qualification will be paid according to their academic level.
“It is unfortunate that in the current modern society, a standard 8 drop-out, a form leaver with a D-, an undergraduate and a post-graduate officer get a similar pay within the current act,” the letter read in part.
Babu added that his bill was also seeking to shield disabled officers injured in the line of duty from paying taxes.
"I want the act amended to provide a framework that will remove discrimination and lack of transparency in promotions and opportunities for officers," he stated.
