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"speaker_name": "Mr. Baiya",
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"legal_name": "Peter Njoroge Baiya",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Bill. I wish to support the Minister for bringing this Bill to this House. This is a very significant Bill in terms of pushing the constitutional reform forward. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission is a new institution being created under Section 230 of the new Constitution. Its mandate are specified in the Constitution and the functions as well as the powers the Ministers has in the Act are similar to those that have been set out in the Constitution. These powers vested in this Commission are expected to be the basis of a very important exercise. Kenyans will be looking up to this Commission to ensure that not only is there harmonization of salaries but also that the principles of the Constitution, especially in Article 10 with regard to fairness, equity and so forth, are brought out in payment of salaries. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the key features in the current salary system is huge disparities of salaries particularly between the senior most staff of Government and the junior ones. It is, indeed, a very demoralizing situation and this has arisen because of uncoordinated review of salaries, where the senior most staff are better placed to influence their own terms. It is hoped that the Commission will, first and foremost, endeavour to ensure that there is parity across all the Government employees, particularly bearing in mind that the bulk of work is generally done in the middle and lower cadres of Government employees. This has been adequately captured by the functions of the Commission. It is also important that a policy be developed. The Commission should not be simply given powers and functions without challenging it to come up with a policy on salary and remuneration. This is all the more reason to ensure that we do not fall into a situation where there are different representatives in the Commission representing different sectors of the Government. There may be a lot of resistance when we talk about implementing the equalization of salaries. That is why it is very important that a policy is developed to ensure that there will be progressive equalization or harmonization of salaries over a period of time. For instance, if we look at the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), the salaries of Members of Parliament have been a basis of clear complaint among Kenyans that they do not answer to the principles of fairness and equity relative to other Government employees. It is the same thing among other sectors like the Judiciary. You will find that the salaries of highest ranking judges relative to those of the lower ranked magistrate, there is no rationale or any explanation. Therefore, it will not be enough to state the principle mentioned in Section 12 â equal remuneration for work of equal value. Let there be a clear and well documented policy that will be the basis for the Commission in reviewing the various salaries to really focus on a policy decision and meet the terms of the policy. The other point I would possibly want to speak on is the power given to the Secretary, and the appointment of the Secretary to the Commission in Section 16. The terms upon which the Secretary will be retained are very well spelt out and they are within what are normally the expectations. In this regard, I would also want to highlight to the Minister, especially that of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs, that we expected some more or less a parallel provision with regard to the other Commission on elections and boundaries review. This is basically because these are independent commissions. If you make provisions that are so different, for example those on the salaries, what is the basis of those differences in terms of appointment of a secretary or relationship of the Secretary to the Board? It is discriminatory in nature to make one different in terms of removal and so on. There should be a standard way of dealing with these matters. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Constitution requires this Commission to be very independent. I expect that this is contained in the Bill. The reason is that this Commission will also determine the terms and conditions of service even of such powerful employees in the Government as Government officers and Members of Parliament. The importance of its independence will, therefore, be critical, so that it can make the right decisions. This independence is precisely what has been lacking in the past. In this regard, we have noted some of the reactions and comments that have come as a result of the decision of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on the nomination of the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice. Some of the reactions are partly a reaction to the attempt by the independent commission to demonstrate that it can make independent decisions. There are some powerful forces, or individuals, who feel that such decisions are going to prejudice their vested political interests, and they are bound to react the way they have reacted. This is why it will also be very important, even when it comes to the commissioners, that we do not merely meet the minimum terms that have been set. When the appointments are being made, regard should be to the ability of the commissioners to demonstrate independent decision making in matters of remuneration, which are, by their very nature, bound to be very controversial. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is also noted, for instance, that this Bill, unlike other Bills which are in Parliament, has not elicited the kind of controversy other Bills have elicited. An example is the Bill on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. This is precisely because the political vested interests in the other Bill apparently are not present in this Bill. It is really astonishing how some of us, especially those in the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, which was dealing with the other Bill, have been affected by those vested interests to the point of the Committee being rendered inoperative. We hope that all the political players will divest themselves of such political interests as we are interfering with the proper and smooth implementation of the Constitution. We would be much better off if we actually discussed this Bill on its merits, and without regard to the political vested interests that are likely to be affected by any of the Bills brought to this House. With those comments, I beg to support."
}