Duale and Murkomen say no to pay cuts to help in coronavirus fight

Duale and Murkomen say no to pay cuts to help in coronavirus fight

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale and his Senate counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen say they will not take pay cuts in solidarity with Kenyans facing hardship in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

The two top leaders of the ruling Jubilee Party were put on the spot on Citizen TV’s New Night show where they gave different explanations on why they would not have their salaries reduced.

Duale argues that taking a salary reduction would be insignificant, adding that he was not elected to the National Assembly by the people of Garissa Township to take a pay cut.

“The people of Garissa Township sent me to the National Assembly not to do a pay-cut but to make sure  that resources and laws are available for Kenyans to be safe in their homes,” said Duale.

He maintains that top companies in the country that have been raking in billions of shillings in profit should be the ones donating money towards the COVID-19 support fund.

“The issue today is the blue-chip corporate organizations in our country that are posting billions in profit. Companies like EABL, KCB, Safaricom by today should be giving back those profits from the Kenyan people. Let’s not talk about pay cuts of  Ksh.30,000, Ksh.40,000, Ksh.200,000 that will not help the situation,” says Duale

On his part, Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen claims that he only takes home a meagre Ksh.10,000 from his more than half  a million monthly salary.

He, therefore, argues it would be unreasonable for him to take a voluntary pay cut.

“I have had a discussion with my employer; the Parliamentary Service Commission, and I went and saw my payslip is less than Ksh.10,000. So I told myself it is not going to be of benefit to the Kenyan people to give out Ksh.5,000 or so as my donation,” said Murkomen.

He, however, promised to set aside funds from his other economic activities like farming and contribute towards supporting the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in Kenya.

“I’m willing to collect my personal donation that will be far much greater than what would have been cut from my salary,” said Murkomen.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto, Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and his Senate counterpart Ken Lusaka have all taken voluntary pay cuts to support the measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic in Kenya.

The Council of Governors also announced that all 47 Governors, their deputies and County Executive Committee members have also offered part of their salaries for the COVID-19 fight.

Tags:

Kipchumba Murkomen Aden Duale

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories