MP proposes reduction of elective seats to cut wage bill

A section of Parliamentarians want the number of elected leaders in the country reduced.

Wudanyi Member of Parliament, Thomas Mwandeghu, says a recent report by the Office of the Auditor General shows that Kenyans are over represented, costing the country billions of shillings in wages.

In an interview with Citizen Digital, Mwandeghu argues that the number of representatives at the county and national levels is high and strains the resources, a move that should necessitate a review to reduce the wage bill.

He now proposes that the current 290 constituencies be reduced to 210 as per the old Constitution.

He argues that the Constitution, just like any other law, needs constant amendments.

“All laws are supposed to be constantly reviewed, and if the wage bill is bloated to the disadvantage of the tax payer, then it is time to review particular segments of the law,” he said.

The report that was conducted by a special team set up to audit the cost of implementing the Constitution revealed that approximately Ksh 6.8 billion is needed annually to facilitate monthly remuneration of the representatives.

In response, the Wundanyi MP also proposed that the 47 Women Representative positions be scrapped off saying that the one third gender balance should be catered for within the existing constituencies.

“The role of women representatives is almost the same as all other Parliamentarians. Why then would we have a different provision of having 47 Women Representatives? We need to devise a way to have the gender rule be incorporated in the National Assemblies and not separately elected as currently provided,” he added.

Wiper nominated Senator, Judith Sijeny, however, says that the amendment should not be an excuse to punish women or reduce their representation, all in the name of cost.