Members of Parliament in Kenya will get a partial relief from the runaway inflation if a bill proposed by one of them to have them paid in US dollars is passed by all of them.
As the Kenyan shilling continues to weaken against all formal and complementary currencies, MP’s have realized that they can shield themselves from the associated pain by using some of their power. By having their salaries paid in US dollars, MP’s will be able to execute their duties well without having to worry about the rising cost of bread.
“MPs play a critical role in the running of a country. One way to appreciate them is to pay them in dollars so that they can focus on their work and have more handouts to give. We will thus require the Parliamentary Service Commission to pay us in dollars in order to free us from trivial worries.”
Diversification
Of course, they could have opted for Bitcoin or Ether but that is a murky world which they do not understand. Do not forget that there is a Kenyan MP who was sold cash Bitcoin and he bought (credit to the scammer). Also, Bitcoin comes with infinite number of dips which might have a hard toll on their mental health.
This is not the first time senior government officers have come up with measures to hedge against inflation or economic collapse. When the Pandora papers laid bare the dealings of President Uhuru Kenyatta as client 13173, his defense was that an offshore account could help him in the event that Kenya’s economy collapsed.
Even the country seems to be fed up with the volatile shilling. Earlier in 2020, the Central Bank of Kenya had planned to switch its base currency to Bitcoin, but the sharp eyed Governor saw the dips coming and changed his mind.
Therefore, Kenyan legislators are in order.
