This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
Published on July 4, 2019, a roundtable discussion on religious unity highlighted the need for justice and equality in Kenyan society. Dr. Ng'ang'a Gichumbi quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying, “Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.”
The quote is apt, given the current controversy surrounding the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and Members of Parliament (MPs) over the latter's self-allocated Sh250,000 house allowance on top of a Sh20 million mortgage. The MPs are determined to retain the house allowance, despite it being condemned as illegal.
While the SRC's Sh1 million monthly allowance for part-time services is also questionable, the MPs' motive in contesting the SRC's pay is suspect. Why did the SRC's pay become an issue only after they contested the MPs' allowance?
The SRC's pay is not the only issue; public servants' salaries, particularly those of top civil servants, make a mockery of the word 'service.' An internet search of the meaning of 'service' reveals that it dates back to around 1200 AD, defining 'assistance, help; a helpful act' like 'provision of food.'
Given the obnoxious salaries and perks of top civil servants and employees of constitutional institutions, public service might as well be renamed 'self-service.' Kenyans elect 'servant-leaders' who end up picking tribesmen, cronies, and relatives to join in looting public coffers.
These issues are being grappled with by the International Ecumenical Movement – Kenya, whose membership includes Justice Lee Muthoga. A keynote speaker at the roundtable, Fr. Peter Mbaro, posed the question, “Why justice for all?” He explained that the Church has been largely silent on the MPs-SRC debacle, despite accusations that it has abandoned its preferential option for the poor.
Fr. Mbaro noted that the Church cannot be concerned about souls when it doesn't bother about the faithful's harsh economic conditions. MPs seem to be oblivious of this, hence their greed, which the Church should lead in condemning.
