Murkomen: I’m not taking a pay cut because I only earn Sh10,000 a month
Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen has surprised Kenyans by saying he is not in a position to take a pay cut to support Kenyans facing hardship owing to the coronavirus because ‘he only earns Sh10,000 a month’.
At the same time, Murkomen has vowed to mobilise resources from other means and donate to the coronavirus cause.
“I have had a discussion with my employer the Parliamentary Service Commission and I went and saw my payslip is less than Sh10,000. Let me tell you something, many lawmakers have taken loans and barely earn a salary So I told myself it is not going to be of benefit to the Kenyan people to give out Sh5,000 or so as my donation,” said Murkomen.
Murkomen’s National Assembly counterpart Aden Duale also expressed his unwillingness to take a pay cut during an interview on national TV, saying a Sh30,000 dedication from his salary would not make ‘much of a difference’.
Duale was more straightforward on whose shoulders the burden of bailing out Kenyans lie.
“The people of Garrisa Township sent me to the National Assembly not to do a pay cut but to make sure that resources and laws are available for Kenyans to be safe in their homes,” he explained.
“The issue today is the blue-chip corporate organisations in our country that are posting billions in profit. Companies like EABL, KCB, Safaricom by today should be giving back those profits from the Kenyan people. Let’s not talk about pay cuts of Sh30,000, Sh40,000, Sh200,000 that will not help the situation,” he said.
Records indicate Murkomen and Duale each take home a basic salary of about Sh1 million a month inclusive of allowances.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto recently announced they had taken pay cuts and the deductions will be channeled towards supporting vulnerable Kenyans.