Kibaki grants self retirement perk

President Kibaki addresses Kenyans during last year's Mashujaa day celebration. (Photo:File/Standard)

By Digital Reporter

NAIROBI, KENYA: The Presidential Retirement Benefits (Amendment) Bill is among 30 bills signed into law by President Kibaki on a day which saw parliament dissolved.

Kibaki however rejected bill awarding the Prime Minister, Vice President, Chief Justice and other state officers a hefty send off perk.

Earlier on Monday, Civil society leaders had staged protests on the 

streets of Nairobi, demanding that President Kibaki rejects his retirement package.

The President had initially rejected The Retirement Benefits (Deputy President and Designated State Officers) Bill 2012 which would have given MPs a hefty Sh9.3 million send-off package and sent it back to Attorney General Githu Muigai for review.

The gratuity had been contained in amendments to the Finance Bill 2012 but the MPs sneaked it in another Bill, The Retirement Benefits (Deputy President and Designated State Officers) Bill 2012.

Calculated to cover all the 224 MPs, the taxpayer would part with at least Sh2 billion to pamper the legislators.

Coming with the package would be one armed security guard, diplomatic passport for both the MP and the spouse, access to VIP lounge at all airports within Kenya and a maintenance expense for all.

Finance Minister Robinson Githae sneaked the amendments on Wednesday night to hand the MPs the package.

The package is arrived at by calculating at 31 per cent of the MPs’ basic pay of Sh200,000 per month from the time they were sworn in on January 15, 2008 up to August 26, 2010.