Members of Parliament (MPs) are among the highest paid government officials in Kenya. The basic pay of an MP is Ksh 850,000 per month.
The realistic net pay of a legislature is Ksh 1.2 million per month, after the inclusion of allowances and other benefits.
In parliament, there are commissions created to deal with various issues involving government operations. The chairpersons of the committees earn Ksh10, 000 per sitting while their assistants earn Ksh8, 000 per session.
MPS are also entitled to Ksh 5,000 per sitting, grants of Sh5 million each to buy luxury cars and mortgages of up to Sh20 million, which they pay at a rate of three per cent. They also get constituency allowance, house allowance, extraneous duty allowance and entertainment allowance.
Other benefits the Members of Parliament enjoy include cover of Sh10 million for in-patient, Sh100, 000 out-patient, Sh100, 000 for maternity, Sh120,000 for dental, Sh20,000 for optical and Sh100,000 last expense/funeral cover.
On top of the allowances, they are entitled to mileage allowance of Sh109 per kilometre for up to 750 kilometres per week.
In 2013 a study by the UK-based Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) placed Kenyan legislatures at position two in the world, beating Britain,US,Canada and Japan counterparts.
The MPs huge pay explains why every Kenyan scrambles for the seat.
