By MN Reporter
Migori County MCAs may be pocketing close to Sh500,000 a month through heft allowances, a shocking report has indicated.
This is almost the same amount being paid to members of parliament.
According to the report by the Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo, Migori MCAs have been pocketing an average of Sh 185,792 in allowances per month which is the highest in the country.
This has exceeded the Salaries and Renumeration Commission’s maximum limit of Sh124,000 per MCAs in a month.
Migori is only second nationally following Uashin Gishu County where MCAs have been taking home an average of Sh313,339 as monthly sitting allowance.
Among other 12 counties exceeded the SRC’s maximum monthly allowance limit are Kakamega, Kirinyaga, Kisii, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Siaya, Taita Taveta, Trans Nzoia, Turkana and Wajir.
In Migori, the MCAs have been pocketing an average of Sh 185,792 in allowances per month while their Tranz-Nzoia counterparts take home at least Sh178,168.
Other counties with exorbitant sitting allowances are: Homa Bay (Sh 165,120), Bungoma (Sh154,700), Nyeri (Sh146,389), Siaya (Sh142,995) and Kisii (Sh148,699).
Surprisingly, in Isiolo MCA’s were not paid any sitting allowance while in Vihiga, the county lawmakers pocketed a meagre Sh12,225.
The report has now lifted the lid on how leaders are looting public funds within the devolved units through the illegal allowances despite high poverty in Migori which has not stopped governor, speaker and MCAs from paying themselves hefty allowances.
In her report, Odhiambo has recommended an audit to unearth what appears as grand misuse of taxpayers money.
“The Office of the Controller of budget recommends that an audit of this expense item should be conducted to ascertain validity of the expenditure,” she stated in the latest 2014/2015 half year County Budget Implementation Review Report.
“This implies that funds meant for other activities were diverted to pay MCA sitting allowances,” Odhiambo concludes in her report.
In 2013, SRC increased MCAs salaries from Sh79,200 per month to Sh123,750. This is expected to rise to Sh165,000 in five years.
They are also entitled to a Sh3 million mortgage, Sh2 million car loan as well as mileage allowance.
In total, MCAs throughout the country have blown away Shs1.44 billion in sitting allowances during this financial year.
The report indicates that Counties have also spent Sh3.72 billion on both domestic and foreign travel against an annual budgetary allocation of Kshs8.52 billion.
Last year, eight countries banned Kenya’s MCAs from visiting them.
The countries complained they have received too many and too large delegations from Kenya, some of which “are not of any value to our bilateral relationship.”
The United States, Rwanda, Israel, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, the Netherlands and Brazil have all complained about the MCA delegations.
