Raila urges Parliament to grant automatic pensions for two-term governors
Odinga noted that Parliament previously amended the law to grant pensions to MPs after two terms in office and urged the legislators to do the same for governors.
ODM leader Raila Odinga has called on Parliament to grant automatic pensions to governors who serve two terms, arguing that the current system favours MPs while leaving the county leaders at a financial disadvantage.
Speaking on the second day of the Devolution Conference in Homa Bay County, Odinga noted that Parliament previously amended the law to grant pensions to MPs after two terms in office and urged the legislators to do the same for governors.
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“Why can we not do the same for governors?”A governor who has served two terms needs to be entitled automatically to a pension,” he said, urging MPs to take up the proposal and push for an amendment to the law to ensure governors receive the same benefits.
"Members of Parliament should seize this matter and go and move an amendment in Parliament,” he said.
His comments came on the heels of concerns raised by Council of Governors (CoG) Chair Ahmed Abdullahi, who highlighted the economic struggles faced by former governors.
The Wajir Governor noted that some ex-governors cannot afford basic necessities, including fuel for official duties, and questioned why pensions exist for MPs and the impending pensions for Members of County Assembly (MCAs), yet governors are left without similar support.
"A lot of the governors who left office are in a dire state economically. There is an impending law to give a pension to MCAs," said the COG chair.
He also warned that the fight against corruption has disproportionately targeted governors, sometimes undermining public confidence in devolution.
Odinga also criticised the practice of senators summoning governors, saying it is unnecessary for the Senate to be summoning governors to appear before Senators in Nairobi.
“County governments are supposed to be overseen by County Assemblies, not the Senate. Senate doesn't have to be summoning Governors to go to appear before them in Nairobi,” he said.
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