Finance minister Njeru Githae presents the 2012/2013 budget statement in Parliament on June 14, 2012. Photo/JENNIFER MUIRURI


Parliament will have to contend with a budget of Sh17bn, a whole billion less than it had projected.
Although he described it as an enhanced budget compared to last year’s, Finance minister Njeru Githae on Thursday slashed Parliament’s budget.
The Parliamentary Service Commission had asked Treasury for Sh18.1 billion to cater for among others, an expanded Parliament and structures but the minister instead granted the institution Sh17 billion.
While reading his budget statement, the minister said Treasury had given priority to resources for setting up essential structures for the National Assembly and the Judiciary to operate under the new constitutional order.
As such, he said, the National Assembly budget had been “enhanced to 17 billion, by 67.3 per cent.”
The Parliamentary Service Commission’s budget which is double that of 2011/2012 financial year skyrocketed because the new Parliament is expected to have up to 418 MPs.
The National Assembly will have 350 MPs and the Senate 68. New structures are being set up as well as new offices to accommodate the expanded House.
In their budget, PSC also asked Treasury to set aside Sh500 million to cover taxes of MPs in the current Parliament, between July 1 when the financial year begins and January 15, 2013 when the term of the Tenth Parliament expires.
The Sh500 million will bring the total tax bill that taxpayers should foot for MPs to Sh2.5 billion.
The bill has been accumulating since August 27, 2010, when the new Constitution was promulgated.
MPs have enjoyed tax free perks since 1975, but with the current Constitution, the tax exemption, was abolished when it came into operation.
In the estimates, the MPs factored in Sh868 million to be “used to cater for the payment of winding-up allowances of the MPs at the expiry of their five-year parliamentary term and also pay for gratuity to former MPs”.
The controversial send-off package which they doubled, is contained in the Finance Bill, 2012.
This means each of the MPs in the current Parliament will earn Sh3.72 million with the payment of the gratuity.
They insisted that because other civil servants earn a gratuity, then they too should not be left out.
In the estimates tabled in the House recently, the MPs however maintained the basic salary of Sh200,000 and other perks in their budget projections.
The PSC gave a budget of Sh205,882, as salaries for senators.