Business Daily (Nairobi)
Mwaura Kimani
14 May 2008
Kenyans could in future get a fixed number of ministers after Parliament agreed to a motion seeking to control the size of the Cabinet.
MPs yesterday voted in support of the motion by Turkana Central legislator Ekwe Ethuro, paving way for the introduction of a Bill which will create specific ministries and provide for the requirements of each.
Should the legislation sail through the House, taxpayers will breathe a sigh of relief given they are already feeling the pinch of financing the Grand Coalition Cabinet. Currently, the number of ministers is 42, up from the 34 who served in the previous one.
This is the largest Cabinet in independent Kenya's history and its naming elicited criticism from analysts who argued Kenyan leaders had little regard for public opinion, which was heavily tilted against a bloated government.
Analysts said there was a need to cap the number of ministers a Government can have in order to check the huge budget arising from a bloated Cabinet.
"In determining the size of the Cabinet, the emphasis should be on delivery of value in the most optimal manner using the least resources," said James Thiga, policy analyst.
However, some experts questioned the timing of the legislation, saying some of the MPs pushing for it were disgruntled after being left out of the Coalition Government.
Treasury has been hard pressed to raise money meant to finance the bloated Cabinet and the accompanying bureaucracy required for the newly-created ministries.
Last week, Parliament approved Sh55.5 billion to be drawn from the Consolidated fund to support Government operations until the end of June. A huge chunk of this will be used to finance new ministries and departments.
Although Finance Minister had many options ranging from raising taxes to borrowing in domestic and foreign markets, he chose to tone down some projects in the Supplementary budget.
This was not beneficial since the ordinary Kenyan is expected to face serious hardship in a less vibrant economy underlined by rising consumer goods prices.
Inflation is said to have shot up to 26 per cent in April, up from 21 in March this year, buoyed by surging food and fuel prices.
Each minister earns an average of Sh1.1 million a month, including the Sh887,500 they are entitled to as MPs. Assistant ministers take home at least Sh950,000 every month.
At the rate of Sh2 billion per year, the Kenyan Cabinet stands out as one of the highest paid group of ministers in the world.
The ministers earn Sh200,000 as responsibility allowance every month while assistant ministers take home Sh100,000. Only Sh200,000 of the ministers' earnings is classified as basic salary and therefore taxable.
This compares poorly with the rest of Kenyans who have to part with at least 30 per cent on their monthly incomes -- salaries and allowances.
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Why should each minister and assistant minister make as much in a 42 member cabinet as they did in a 34 or 24 member cabinet? They obviously have less to do. Start with a budget for the cabinet (say the same budget as last year) and then divide it among how ever many cabinet members the President or PM (who does make that decision) decides to have.