Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki has approved a bill that awards him a 216,500 euros send off package as well as other retirement benefits, but rejected similar benefits for the country's legislators. The
presidential retirement benefits bill, grants President Kibaki and his predecessor Daniel Arap Moi, a monthly pension, house allowance and a monthly entertainment allowance.
Under this bill the president will also be paid a lump sum take-home pay of Sh12.6 million (110,000 euros) for every term served. In addition to the above gratuities, the Kenyan president will also be paid pension at the rate of 80 percent of his final salary, meaning that he would earn slightly above 6,000 euros including entertainment allowance every month.
Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki has approved a bill that awards him a 216,500 euros send off package as well as other retirement benefits, but rejected similar benefits for the country's legislators. The presidential retirement benefits bill, grants President Kibaki and his predecessor Daniel Arap Moi, a monthly pension, house allowance and a monthly entertainment allowance. Under this bill the president will also be paid a lump sum take-home pay of Sh12.6 million (110,000 euros) for every term served.
In addition to the above gratuities, the Kenyan president will also be paid pension at the rate of 80 percent of his final salary, meaning that he would earn slightly above 6,000 euros including entertainment allowance every month.The rejected bill has caused uproar among Kenyans and the civil society, who on Wednesday took to the streets, to show their displeasure with the latest show of greed by the legislators.
Human rights activists have condemned the move by MPs to award themselves huge benefits, saying the package was preposterous and a completely bad taste, given the current conditions under which majority Kenyans live in. The president declined to assent to the law since he had refused to sign a similar bill last year.
When he vetoed the previous bill, Kibaki said it was untenable in the prevailing economic circumstances in the country.
