47 County Speakers Sue SRC Over Ksh5 Million Car Grants

All 47 county speakers have sued the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) seeking an allocation of Ksh5 million to purchase motor vehicles for official use.

In addition to the Ksh5 million, they are also seeking Ksh200,000 monthly for the maintenance of the vehicles.

In their petition, they accused the SRC of denying them their constitutional right to be allocated funds to purchase vehicles to fulfill their mandate.

They further claimed that the commission had blatantly undermined their offices’ authority to ensure effective legislative operations and maintain impartiality in the discharge of their duties. 

Due to this assertion, they termed the SRC’s decision to deny them these benefits as unconstitutional due to its failure to recognise the critical role their offices play in governance.

The petitioners further claimed that the lack of these crucial resources has hindered their ability to perform their duties efficiently.

Another concern was that other government officials enjoyed similar benefits they had been denied.

In June 2023, SRC announced a gradual increase in the remuneration of County Speakers noting that they would enjoy a gross salary of Ksh601,674 for the 2024-2025 financial year. 

Although the County Assembly Speakers enjoy a sizeable sitting allowance and a special assembly duty allowance, they do not have a set allocation for the purchase of vehicles.

This petition comes barely a month after SRC completed a countrywide monitoring and evaluation (M&E) exercise in all 47 counties to assess the devolved government’s adherence to advice, circulars, gazette notices, and guidelines issued by the commission on remuneration and benefits.

They engaged both the County Executive and County Assembly arms through sessions with county leaders, including Governors and Speakers during courtesy calls, and dialogued with technical county staff in the areas of accounting, finance, human resources, administration, and payroll.

“SRC has been holding bilateral talks with governors and county leadership to bolster mutual collaboration and ensure the public wage bill remains sustainable,” former SRC Commissioner Wangui Muchiri said during their visit to Kwale County.