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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Anger as Kenya MPs get huge bonus | Anger as Kenya MPs get huge bonus |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Kenyan MPs have voted to award themselves a $22,000 bonus each at the end of their five-year term in December despite a wave of public condemnation. | Kenyan MPs have voted to award themselves a $22,000 bonus each at the end of their five-year term in December despite a wave of public condemnation. |
| The move has been condemned by lawyers and human rights activists who say it is "highly immoral". They held a protest against the proposal in July. | The move has been condemned by lawyers and human rights activists who say it is "highly immoral". They held a protest against the proposal in July. |
| The bill also legalises huge perks that ministers have been receiving. | The bill also legalises huge perks that ministers have been receiving. |
| MPs had originally wanted a bonus of $98,000 each but the finance minister said the country could not afford this. | MPs had originally wanted a bonus of $98,000 each but the finance minister said the country could not afford this. |
| MP's ANNUAL SALARY Kenya: $35,847 Nigeria: $6,949South Africa: $53,753Uganda: $10,313India: $3,528UK: $119,438 Source: Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, 2005 Kenya's 222 MPs already earn more than $10,000 a month in salaries and expenses, much of which is tax-free, in a country where most people live on less than $1 a day. | |
| Many Kenyans see MPs as lazy and self-interested, who often skip parliamentary sessions unless it concerns a pay rise for themselves. | Many Kenyans see MPs as lazy and self-interested, who often skip parliamentary sessions unless it concerns a pay rise for themselves. |
| "It is highly immoral and even if it is not illegal, further research is needed to establish what the taxpayer can do to stop MPs from enriching themselves," said Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights chairman Maina Kiai, according to the Nairobi Star newspaper. | |
| Law Society of Kenya chairman Okongo Omogeni, said they would challenge the matter in court as the award was unconstitutional, the paper reports. |