Treasury rejects SRC push for Moi, Kibaki pay cuts

The Treasury has rejected calls to cut retired presidents Mwai Kibaki’s and Daniel arap Moi’s pension in line with a reduction of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s pay that legally determines the benefits of the former heads of State.

Mr Moi and Mr Kibaki’s monthly pension is set at 80 percent of the current salary paid to the sitting President besides other perks like fuel, house and entertainment allowance.

It was expected that the monthly pay for the two would drop after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) cut President Kenyatta’s salary to Sh1.44 million from Sh1.65 million.

SRC, which advises the government on the wages of public sector officials, reckon that Mr Moi and Mr Kibaki should automatically be adjusted to follow the review of Mr Kenyatta’s pay.

“We did not review the former President’s pension when SRC cut the sitting President’s pay because it was running against the Constitution,” said a top Treasury official who sought anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

“The Constitution is supreme and it should take precedent, and not the Kenya Gazette.”

The Treasury official was referring to the July 2017 Kenya Gazette notice —which cut the salaries of top officials, including the President, his deputy and lawmakers.

The SRC said Kenya would save Sh8.5 billion annually through cuts aimed at curbing the ballooning public sector wage bill and free up resources for projects like building roads, water dams and power plants.

The Treasury official, quoting chapters 9 and 10 of the Constitution, said the supreme law does not support a cut on the salaries of a segment of State officers including the President, his deputy, former heads of state, judges and retired judges.

“The retirement benefits payable to a former President and a former Deputy President, the facilities available to and the privileges enjoyed by them shall not be varied to their disadvantage during their lifetime,” says Chapter 9.

The Treasury position is backed by budget estimates approved by Parliament, which show Mr Moi’s and Mr Kibaki’s monthly pay and perks remained unchanged at Sh74 million in the year to June, compared to the same period a year earlier when the SRC effected the cuts on Mr Kenyatta’s pay.

The retired presidents’ monthly pay allocation had increased from Sh64 million in the year to June 2017.

Retirement benefits of former presidents have come under sharp criticism, especially in the past couple of years when allocations increased by large margins, even as the government insisted it had put in place austerity measures to deal with a burgeoning wage bill.

If awarded equally, their package for the current year assures each a monthly payout of Sh3 million — an amount that is more than twice President Kenyatta’s official salary of Sh1.44 million.

It also puts the benefits of the two at par with the salary and benefits of top chief executives of State-owned firms like KenGen and Kenya Power.

The High Court in 2015 stopped the government from paying allowances worth millions of shillings to the two after finding that they were an unnecessary burden to the taxpayers.

The Attorney-General has since appealed the decision, allowing the two to continue enjoying the high pay.

Sections of the law that the court nullified entitled Mr Kibaki and his predecessor, Mr Moi, to a Sh300,000 house allowance per month, fuel (Sh200, 000), entertainment (Sh200, 000) and utilities (Sh300,000).

The law also entitles them to two personal assistants, four secretaries, four messengers, four drivers and bodyguards, pushing the office and home workers to 34 under the scheme funded by taxpayers.

They are also entitled to four cars that are replaced every years, including two limousines.

Taxpayers also cater for workers in Mr Kibaki’s Nairobi office that was bought at Sh250 million three years ago, and Mr Moi’s office at Kabarnet Gardens, off Ngong Road.