Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has faulted the government’s poor leadership which has led to the misappropriation of taxpayers’ money.
Speaking to Citizen TV on Wednesday, the legislator painfully questioned why the State blindly approves illogical financial proposals while ignoring key development areas that have remained cash-starved for eons.
Onyonka faulted the monthly fixed mileage allowance of Ksh.366,011 granted to MPs by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) per month, effective April 1.
“When everybody talks about let’s have a Ward fund, we allow county governments and their assemblies to do their job. What do we do? You see somebody in Treasury and my colleagues in the National Assembly went and decided to increase our salaries and I never asked for a salary increment,” he said.
“I am complaining because you can’t give me what I didn’t ask for. An MCA right now is earning Ksh.81,000 and you are making my salary Ksh.1 million? Don’t you see that dysfunctionality?”
Onyonka added that the constitution of Kenya has been deliberately ignored and leaders have opted to manipulate devolved structures, affecting development in the Counties.
“There are certain structures that have been made deliberately dysfunctional for whatever reason,” he added.
A letter by SRC to the secretary of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) indicated that the new changes were approved during SRC’s meeting held on March 20, 2025.
In January 2025, MPs pushed for a pay rise from Ksh.725,502 to Ksh.739,600 amid tough economic times that have seen Kenyans grapple with the high cost of living.
During Parliament proceedings, as MPs welcomed the new SRC commissioners, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah said the outgoing commissioners froze their pay rise due to the Gen Z protests despite it being a constitutional process.
He warned the new team against making such decisions.
“They wanted to play populist politics and pit MPs against the members of the public when they published the normal annual increment of MPs during the Gen Z protests. MPs like other Kenyans deserve a pay rise,” Ichung’wah remarked.
Meanwhile, MCAs are demanding a 700% salary increase, insisting that it should be the bare minimum adjustment implemented by the SRC.
During a meeting on the final day of the 5th County Assembly Summit in Nairobi, the MCAs insisted that their current earnings no longer reflect the weight of their responsibilities.
They pushed for the implementation of the Ward Development Fund and financial autonomy from the County Executive, arguing that these measures are essential for effective oversight and service delivery.
According to a gazette notice released on August 9, 2023, the monthly remuneration for State officers in the County Assembly for the financial year 2023/2024, effective July 1, 2023, is structured as follows:
An MCA earns a basic salary of Ksh.92,689, complemented by a house allowance of Ksh.50,000, bringing their gross salary to Ksh.154,481 following a recent salary adjustment of Ksh.11,792.
MCAs also receive a committee sitting allowance of Ksh.3,900 per session, capped at a maximum of Ksh.62,400 per month.
