Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) will not receive housing allowances they have been pushing for, the Salaries and Renumeration Commission (SRC) has declared.
The team of 1450 ward representatives has been pushing to be allocated between Sh65,000 and Sh85,000 for house allowance.
In a letter addressed to the County Speakers and Clerks and copied to finance executives and Controller of Budget, SRC says that the MCAs are in no position to allocate themselves the funds.
In the later dated June 30 and signed by SRC CEO Anne Gitau, the commission says that it is its job to confer on such, after the County Assemblies Forum on July 29 wrote to the 47 houses to table payment and allowances motions.
“SRC wants to reiterate that the setting and review of house allowance is the exclusive mandate of the commission,” reads the letter from the SRC.
She adds that ongoing attempts to discuss and pass the motion are unlawful, adding that monies that have already been paid in line with the push will be recovered.
"Going against this directive is tantamount to usurping the constitutional role of the SRC. Payment of benefits, including house allowance, outside the SRC structure, is illegal,” adds Gitau in the letter.
This is even as the MCAs argue that they are entitled to the allowance like all other state officers.