Kenya president vetoes huge bonuses for parliament

[October 10, 2012]  NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Kenya's president has vetoed a move by the country's parliament to award legislators bonuses of up to $110,000 at the end of their term next year.

President Mwai Kibaki said late Tuesday that the move is unconstitutional and untenable in the country's prevailing economic circumstances.

Kibaki noted recent increases of salaries for teachers and doctors, and said Kenya requires massive resources to implement a new constitution and meet other competing demands in the economy.

The legislators last week quietly awarded themselves the bonuses, sparking public outrage.

Kenya's 222 legislators currently make about $120,000 a year each. The minimum wage in Nairobi, the capital, is about $1,500 a year.

[Associated Press]

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