Following a week of an intense vetting process of Cabinet Secretaries nominated by President William Ruto, the amount of money the committee members earned in allowances has been made public.
The committee led by the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula and his deputy, Gladys Boss Shollei, comprised of 17 Members of Parliament.
The MPs were drawn from both the Minority and the Majority sides in the National Assembly.
According to the Standard, members of the committee were paid KSh 5 million in allowances and a two-night stay at a city hotel charging KSh20,000 per night.
The 21-member committee earned KSh 2.4 million in sitting allowances and spent KSh 800,000 in hotel fees.
However, the expenditure could go up if allowances, accommodation, meals and refreshments of parliamentary support staff such as drivers and bodyguards are included.
At the same time, each MP sitting in the committee earned KSh 15,000 daily sitting allowance for the five days they sat in Parliament and the two days they retreated to write a report.
This means each MP received approximately KSh 105,000 as sitting allowances including an extra late duty allowance earned for the days they sat beyond working hours.
While members of the committee made KSh 15,000 in a single sitting, Wetangula made KSh 30,000 daily thanks to his position as the committee’s chair.
Shollei who deputized Wetangula on the other hand made approximately KSh 170,000 during the week-long vetting period.
The vetting process started in 2012 towards the end of the reign of former President Mwai Kibaki when the committee was established under the provisions of Standing Order 204.
Before then, Cabinet secretaries were not vetted.
It’s membership include Speaker of the National Assembly as a chairperson, the Deputy Speaker, the Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority party.
Others are the Deputy Leader of the Majority Party, the Deputy Leader of the Minority party and not more than 22 other members nominated by the House Business Committee.
The committee is appointed within seven days of assembly of a new House and serves for a period of three years.
In the absence of the Speaker, the committee elects a member, from among its rank to chair the meeting; the Speaker is not counted for the purposes of quorum and does not vote.
Upon the President nominating the Cabinet, he sends the names to Parliament where the Speaker of the National Assembly notifies members of the receipt of the communication from the President.
The National Assembly then forms a committee on appointments which is chaired by the Speaker to vet the nominees.
The House can either reject in total or some nominees.
