Controversy is brewing in the National Assembly over Millions of money, in mileage allowances, that some Members of Parliament have been pocketing on a monthly basis.
A section of legislators on Thursday, blew the lid off what is seen to be an outright misuse of taxpayers' money, after they revealed that some MPs were receiving huge mileage allowances that run between Sh1.2 and Sh2.4 Million per month.
The lawmakers are entitled to a mileage privilege in which they claim reimbursement of money they spend while travelling by road to their constituencies. However, it has now emerged that some of the lawmakers pocket hefty perks even when they never traveled to their political regions.
Reports indicate that lawmakers file mileage claim forms with their transport departments then submit them to the Parliamentary Finance Department without proof that they indeed visited their constituencies.
The MPs drawn from constituencies within Nairobi and its environs, which don't receive the mileage perk, petitioned the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to scrap the allowance and instead offer a more affordable privilege.
“We wish to bring to your attention as the SRC that the mileage claims system is prone to abuse as members don’t have to prove that they travelled to their local constituencies for reimbursement to be done...we propose that instead of mileage, air tickets should be bought for members who wish to travel to their constituencies as this would be cheaper.” the Business Daily quotes a letter sent to the SRC Chair Sarah Serem.
The members of the August House claimed the mileage money was tabulated based on the Kilometres from Nairobi to the their Constituencies, whether parliament was on session or not Citizen TV reports.
The MPs cited for instance, Mandera which is 2,300 kilometres on return trip to Nairobi, noting that legislators from the area claimed Sh430,100 per week when calculated at the Automobiles Association (AA) rate of Sh187 per Kilometre.
MPs from Turkana County which is 2260Km on a return trip, are said to be pocketing Sh422,620 in mileage claims
The mileage privilege lawmakers continue to enjoy is said to cost the taxpayer an average of Sh150 Million per month, which amounts to Sh1.8 Billion annually.
The lawmakers opposing the perk were led by Steven Kariuki (Mathare), Francis Waititu (Juja), Humprey Njuguna (Gatanga), and Benson Mutura, (Makadara).
