Kenyans are being told to brace themselves for tough times ahead as government plans to implement the 16 per cent value added tax on petroleum products but their representatives in the National Assembly are more interested in getting services similar to the lawmakers in the UK.
Never mind the average Briton does not suffer the same challenges as the average Kenyan that our MPs should consider benchmarking themselves with their UK counterparts; especially on perks and privileges.
It’s something of a wonder really that MPs have always agreed with one another whenever debating issues about their welfare but never seem to agree when it came to issues important to the people they represented.
This week, the lawmakers in the National Assembly unanimously and without any hitches adopted the report by the committee on Members’ Services and Facilities seeking to, among other things increase their car grant, allowances, salaries as well as offer them five-star hotel services.
To nobody’s surprise, when a report on the contraband sugar affecting the entire country and mostly sugar cane farmers was tabled, they had trouble speaking unanimously or at the very least having a sound debate. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Justin Muturi had to invite the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to investigate MPs who were allegedly bribed to shoot down the report.
Kieni MP who was the co-chair of the joint committee that authored the report blamed the House leadership including the Speaker and both leader of majority and minority for leading MPs in shooting down the report. On the other hand, his team that worked on the report was also accused of protecting the sugar barons; hence the shoddy report.
Indeed it is members of this same committee that had been reprimanded by the Speaker after they were seen taking photos and exchanging pleasantries with the billionaire Jaswant Rai whom they were investigating; completely oblivious of the implications.
The probe on the contraband sugar is just one among the many bungled investigations by the National Assembly committees. Sadly, the root of this incompetence has always been corruption and or nepotism
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