海角大神

Demonstrators marched through Nairobi鈥檚 capital today聽to protest another attempt by Kenyan lawmakers to boost their pay,聽after it emerged the officials had voted for a $25 million bonus for when聽they leave office.

In a quiet amendment added to the Finance Bill late Thursday, members聽of Parliament approved a golden handshake of $110,000 each to be聽paid after their term ends early next year.

The sweetener comes on top of an annual package worth $125,000, which is 70 times more than the average Kenyan worker takes home each year.聽It would take an average Kenyan worker 61 years to earn the sum that聽each of the country鈥檚 222 lawmakers would be given under the bonus.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no one I鈥檝e come across who鈥檚 not been totally outraged about聽this,鈥� says Rachel Gichinga, a manager at a Nairobi technology聽development center, who joined yesterday鈥檚 protests.

The move comes less than a fortnight after Kenya鈥檚 government said it聽could not afford to cover pay increases demanded by teachers and聽doctors, who had been on strike for three weeks in September.

鈥淎fter everything that鈥檚 been happening with the teachers鈥� and聽doctors鈥� strikes, when the government said it had no money to pay them聽higher salaries, to then give themselves $25 million is beyond聽unreasonable,鈥� says Ms. Gichinga.

The raises for law makers will add to a revenue shortfall that will be covered by increased taxes outlined in the bill on聽mobile phone money聽transfers, banking checks, and withdrawing money from ATMs.聽There were reports that costs of some popular drinks, mobile phone聽airtime, and accessing the Internet would also be increased to cover the shortfall.聽All are areas that will hit both Kenya鈥檚 middle classes and its聽poorest citizens, in a country where the average annual per capital聽income is roughly $1,800.

鈥淲e have been suffering for so long with these people as our leaders,聽and they know we will vote them out at the next election,鈥� says Evans聽Odera, a civil rights campaigner living in Kisumu, western Kenya鈥檚聽main town.聽鈥淭hat can be the only reason they are trying to steal so much from us.聽It will not work.鈥�

Mr. Odera may be right.

A coalition of pressure groups, campaigners, and even some MPs and聽senior ministers has formed to fight the move, and together they called聽on Mwai Kibaki, the president, to refuse to sign the bill into law if聽the bonus remained. [UPDATE: Four hours after this story ran, Kenya's president announced that he would refuse to sign the bill into law if the lawmakers' bonus amendment remained, meaning that the legislation will go back to parliament to be redrafted. It is expected that a majority of MPs, aware of the public outrage, will now distance themselves from the pay-off.]

Prime minister criticizes

Raila Odinga, the prime minister, took to Twitter yesterday to tell聽followers that he was 鈥渁gainst the MPs' gratuity bonus.鈥� In 2010,聽he turned down a pay-rise, agreed by lawmakers, that would have taken聽his salary to more than that of Barack Obama鈥檚.

Paul Muite, a former MP, said that his colleagues amending a bill to boost聽their own salaries was 鈥渦nconstitutional鈥� and vowed to challenge it in聽the courts.

In 2003, Kenyan lawmakers quadrupled their pay as their first order of聽business after the 2002 election, and they have since tried to聽increase their income far above the rate of inflation on three other occasions.

In 2010, they voted themselves a 25 percent pay-rise, to more than $14,000 a month, saying that new taxes聽on their income were leaving them near-bankrupt. The proposal was removed after a public outcry.

Mwalimu Mati, head of Mars Group, a Kenyan governance watchdog, called聽the proposed bonus 鈥渂razen鈥� and 鈥渨ithout regard to Kenya鈥檚聽constitution.鈥�

鈥淲e note that yet again [MPs] and the parliamentary service commission聽have abused their privileges and disregarded all rules of decency and
conflict of interest to purport to yet again enact increases to their聽personal remuneration and allowances,鈥� he says.