The Court of Appeal has affirmed that the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) does not have the mandate to set allowances for Members of Parliament, reinforcing the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) authority in determining MPs’ remuneration.
Dispute Over Housing Allowance
The case originated from a 2018 decision by PSC to award MPs a Ksh250,000 monthly housing allowance. SRC challenged this move in the High Court and won, leading to the deduction of the already disbursed payments.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, PSC escalated the matter to the Court of Appeal, where Justices Gatembu Kairu, Francis Tuiyott, and Jessie Lesiit upheld the High Court’s decision.
“The appellants in their own confession before us admitted that the judgment of the superior court has been fully complied with and all payments made to MPs under the ‘accommodation/facilitation/house allowance’ fully deducted from the MPs’ salaries. That action settles the finality of the compromise reached by the parties, leaving no room to challenge the issue of house allowance. There is therefore left nothing for us to determine in that regard,” the ruling stated.
SRC’s Role in Capping Sitting Allowances
Additionally, the Court of Appeal ruled that SRC acted within its legal mandate by capping MPs’ sitting allowances.
PSC had argued that limiting allowances would restrict the number of parliamentary sittings. However, the court clarified that SRC did not limit the number of sittings but only set a cap on the maximum monthly allowance MPs could earn for attending committee sessions.
“The gazette notice that resulted from the compromise aforestated is itself clear that the SRC has not capped the number of times committees can sit,” the ruling read.
“It has capped the maximum allowances members can earn each month as house committee sitting allowance. This means while the number of committee meetings members can attend is not capped, they cannot earn more in sitting allowances than prescribed by the SRC.”
Implications of the Ruling
Following the Wednesday ruling, SRC expressed that the decision reinforces its constitutional mandate to regulate salaries and benefits for MPs and other state officials. The commission further stated that the ruling would help manage Kenya’s wage bill effectively.
The decision is seen as a major victory for SRC in its ongoing efforts to streamline government remuneration and prevent excessive allowances in public service.
Stay tuned for further developments on parliamentary remuneration policies.
