The leader of the Majority in the Senate Aaron Cheruiyot on Tuesday, April 11, revealed that some Members of Parliament are struggling in life like ordinary Kenyans.
According to the Senator, MPs are equally suffering in similar ways since their monthly payment is as low as Ksh10,000.
The vocal Kericho Senator noted that legislators are facing serious financial dilemmas due to the many commitments which are attached to their salaries.
"They may not tell you, but let me just reveal it here because I have been a member of the Parliamentary Service Commission," Cheruiyot claimed.
He stated that a number of MPs were suffering under the heavy weight of serviceable loans and other financial facilities that placed financial chokeholds on their grandiose lifestyle.
"As a matter of fact, 95 to 97 per cent of Parliamentarians take home less than Ksh10,000, and it’s the first rule of survival in politics they teach you once you get to Parliament," Cheruiyot noted.
The Senate Majority Leader stated that MPs were therefore forced to devise other means of surviving as they discharge their duties.
Cheruiyot's statement was supported by Senate Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo who affirmed that it's possible to leave Parliament poor than one came.
"The first rule when you come to Parliament, commit your salary because you never know, once you leave Parliament and you haven’t committed your salary elsewhere, then you leave with nothing," Madzayo revealed.
In order to survive, MPs capitalised on the sitting allowances with Parliamentary Committee meetings, which take place a number of times a week.
The MPs also reap from heavy allowances, especially, for lawmakers on assignments to foreign countries.
These are what Cheruiyot referred to as tricks of survival in the Parliament which must be learned by all Legislators.
On Friday, 24 February 2023, Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salasya claimed his payslip was reading Ksh97,197 after Ksh1.1 million was deducted to take care of his loans.
Salasya stated that he first earned a gross pay of Ksh1,171,525 when he became a Member of Parliament, but his salary was significantly reduced when he started servicing loans.
The lawmaker also revealed that Pay As You Earn (PAYE) was among the deductions, which saw him the part way with Ksh337,840 and mortgage contributions that amounted to Ksh563,000.
The Mumias East MP paid for his car loan of Ksh89,000 and made a Ksh53,676 contribution to the staff pension fund.
