Mumias East MP Peter Salasya shared a photo of his payslip in protest to remarks made by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua comparing the government to a company where shareholders with the largest investments enjoy the most benefits.
In a post, Salasya criticised DP Gachagua, demonstrating how Kenyans pay taxes, whether or not they are in government or opposition.
“Let me demonstrate to Hon Aaron Cheruiyot, Deputy President Gachagua my great friend CS Murkomen that all Kenyans have shares in this country.
“I contribute Sh300,000 plus to revenue and the president is the only watchman for our contributions and it's our right to ask for development,” he said.
The payslip dated October 2022 showed that for that month, the MP was paid a gross sum of Sh1,171,525, including a basic salary of Sh426,000, administrative allowance of Sh134,000, house allowance of Sh150,000, sitting allowance of Sh90,000 telephone allowance of Sh15,000 and vehicle fixed cost of Sh356,525.
However, despite the huge sums paid to the Member of Parliament, he took home Sh97,197.
Salasya’s salary was deducted a total of Sh1,074,327 including PAYE tax of Sh337,840, NHIF Sh1,700, staff pension Sh53,676, ration and messing Sh3,960, Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association membership Sh5,000, car loan Ksh89,150 sacco payments Sh20,000 and a mortgage contribution of Sh563,000.
The shared payslip generated chatter from Kenyans who were quick to comment about Salasya’s spending.
“Can we make this country fair to everyone? An MP earning over 1M pays the same NHIF contribution as a person employed in under 10K. Mind you, an MP has a medical insurance of 10M per year, while the employee under 20K is not guaranteed of medical insurance,” opined Mwaura Wambiru.
He added that a mortgage of half a million per month was a bit excessive but other Kenyans argued that MPs enjoy interest free mortgages.