Members of the county assembly have doubled their efforts to demand a triple salary, from their current ksh144,000 to ksh400,000 a month.
Spearheading the wage debate in the county assembly of Vihiga, the assembly speaker Chris Omulele and the other 36 representatives from across the country showed a united front in demanding a salary increase and a ward development budget.
Read also: Odinga; Ruto is in office illegally, I significantly won the election
On Monday, Chris, a devoted member of the CAF said that the MCAs would like to have a sit-down with President William Ruto to address the wage increase agenda. According to him, having a one-on-one with the Commander-in-chief will enable them to ‘raise matters that are of importance to them.’
“The current pay cannot sustain MCAs because, unlike MPs, they are always with their people in the wards. The welfare of these MCAs is wanting and they are suffering. I am not afraid to say this because I sit with them and this is a discussion that we must have,” added Omulele.
Omulele stated that the MCAs also want the ward development fund to be set into law to enable them to initiate projects at the civic unit level.
Subscribe to Switch TV for more informative content
This is not the first rodeo the MCAs have put up as far as wages are concerned. They have in the past raised complaints concerning the big disparity in their wages and those of the MPs, and their counterparts, yet they have similar responsibilities of representation, oversight, and budget making.
Read also: How to make payment on new Nairobi county digitized system
Currently aside from their monthly salary of ksh144,000, MCAs have an inpatient cover of ksh3 million, an outpatient cover of ksh200,000, ksh100,000 for maternity, and ksh50,000 for dental and optical cover.
Their demands come at a time when the country is heavily burdened with a huge wage bill and an economy that screams for help.
