National Assembly approves new Salaries and Remuneration Commission team
Nominee chairperson Sammy Chepkwony as chairperson of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) before the National Assembly Committee on labour at the Bunge Tower Nairobi on Friday, November 22, 2024, for vetting.
The National Assembly has approved new commissioners for the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) amid a raging war with MPs over salaries.
The lawmakers approved Sammy Chepkwony as the chairperson, Major General (Rtd) Martin Kizito, nominee representing the Defence Council and Mohamed Aden Abdi, nominee of the Senate on behalf of county governments.
Jane Njage, for the Teachers Service Commission, Leonid Ashiundi, for Association of Professional Societies in East Africa, Gilder Odera, representing the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), and Geoffrey Omondi for the Central Organization of Trade Unions also got the House’s greenlight.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah pointed out on Thursday that the previous commission started off on the wrong foot, not only with Parliament but also with other arms of government such as the judiciary.
“We had a populist commission and this one should not work like that. I hope that this new commission will set a new pace with other arms of government be it the judiciary or the legislature. This new commission should not work in consultation with other government agencies,” Mr Ichung’wah said.
Minority Leader Junet Mohamed said SRC commissioners have always had a misguided opinion that they are created to fight politicians.
“You will see after being approved, the first war they will start is with the politicians, I don’t know who misadvised them. This new commission should start on a new slate. They should deal with the wage bill and the general remuneration of public officers,” Mr Mohamed said
Imenti North MP Rahim Dawood said the commissioners were usually good during the vetting process, only to turn against MPs once in office.
“They always target MPs on matters of salary review. In the 11th Parliament, we approved of Sarah Serem, in the interview she sounded so good but when she left, she showed us her horns, the same as Lyn Mengich. I hope the new chair will not have the same mentality,” Mr Dawood said.
More follows.
