All 47 county speakers have filed a lawsuit against the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), requesting an allocation of Ksh5 million to buy motor vehicles for official use.
Alongside the Ksh5 million, they are pursuing an additional Ksh200,000 each month for vehicle maintenance.
They claimed in their petition that the SRC had refused to allocate them funds for vehicle purchases necessary to fulfill their mandate, thereby denying them a constitutional right.
Moreover, they alleged that the commission had clearly weakened the authority of their offices in order to secure effective legislative processes and uphold objectivity in fulfilling their responsibilities.
As a result of this assertion, they labeled the SRC’s decision to deny them these benefits as unconstitutional because it did not acknowledge the essential role their offices play in governance.
The petitioners additionally asserted that not having access to these essential resources has obstructed their capacity to carry out their responsibilities effectively.
It was also a matter of concern that other government officials had access to similar benefits from which they had been excluded.
SRC announced in June 2023 a gradual increase in the remuneration of County Speakers, who would receive a gross salary of Ksh601,674 for the financial year 2024-2025.
Even though the County Assembly Speakers receive a considerable sitting allowance and a special assembly duty allowance, there is no designated allocation for them to buy vehicles.
Just a month after SRC wrapped up a nationwide monitoring and evaluation (M&E) exercise across all 47 counties to evaluate the devolved government’s compliance with advice, circulars, gazette notices, and guidelines from the commission regarding remuneration and benefits, this petition was submitted.
They involved both the County Executive and County Assembly by holding sessions with county leaders such as Governors and Speakers during courtesy visits, and they conversed with technical county personnel in accounting, finance, human resources, administration, and payroll.
