Kenyan Taxpayers to Fork Out Millions to Buy Laptops for MPs in New Proposal

Kenyan taxpayers may be forced to cough millions of shillings for the purchase of free laptops for MPs if a new proposal is adopted.

The parliamentary Broadcasting and Library Committee tabled a report in the National Assembly last week recommending the acquisition of laptops to enable MPs to participate in virtual meetings in the wake of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.

If MPs approve the report, taxpayers will shoulder the burden of acquiring laptops for 350 members of the National Assembly.

“The committee recommends that the National Assembly should consider facilitating members of the National Assembly with laptops for the conduct of virtual meetings,” the committee says in the report tabled in Parliament last Thursday.

The committee indicated that MPs preferred laptops to iPads for virtual meetings. The recommendation follows findings of a task force appointed to explore a possible technology solution suitable for the House to conduct its business while adhering to protocols on containment of COVID-19.

It will cost about Sh105 million to acquire the gadgets assuming each MP gets an Apple MacBook Pro that goes for up to Sh300,000. The budget excludes the cost of buying laptops for the 68 Senators, including the speaker.

Kenyan MPs earn at least Sh1.3 million per month including allowances, making them among the world’s best-paid lawmakers 

For instance, MPs pocket Sh5,000 per committee sitting, with the chair taking home Sh10,000 and Sh7,500 for vice-chairpersons. Other perks include domestic subsistence of Sh19,000, house allowance of Sh250,000, and Sh10 million annual medical cover. They are also entitled to a Sh5 million car grant, a Sh20 million mortgage, and a Sh7 million car loan.