ODM leader Raila Odinga has criticized lawmakers for pushing for allowances at different levels. Speaking at his Capitol Hill office in Nairobi, Raila said that MPs and ward representatives pushing for allowances do not have the will of the people at heart.
He noted that the push for increments in their salaries and allowances will affect the wage for no good reasons.
He said questioned why members of County assembly from a particular county should ask for allowances in order to travel to other counties to perform some duties.
The opposition leader noted that the push for allowance is not ideal at all. Raila asked leaders at various levels to prioritize service delivery before anything else.
He further said that there is a need for politicians elected into different offices to rethink about their people’s needs before they make any decision in life.
Raila, who doubles as African Union Special Envoy, also said that counties have been losing millions in the name of meetings organized outside their regions regularly.
“Why should MCAs from Taita Taveta, Kisumu, or Kakamega, go to Naivasha, Nairobi, or Eldoret to do their duties in these counties?
"A lot of money sent to the ground for devolution does not go for development as was intended; 70 percent of the devolution funds go for consumption and recurrent expenditures. Only 30 percent or even less, go for development,” he said, as quoted by Daily Nation.