No harm in raising MPs’ salaries; they should live up to the expectations
It is done and dusted! Now, the members of the national transition legislative assembly (NTLA) and their counterparts from the council of states are entitled to a massive salary raise. The Speaker of the TNLA, Jemma Nunu Kumba, revealed yesterday that President Salva Kiir had signed the emolument act effecting the salary raise to ensure that lawmakers have a better standard of living befitting honoured state officers.
The hike implies that the lawmakers’ package will climb from a paltry SSP9,400 to a mammoth SSP800,000. This is a staggering increment of more than 8,000 per cent. According to the news report, we ran yesterday, Kumba said: “The emoluments and privileges of the members of the Transitional National Legislature Act 2022 have been assented to by His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit, and it is now law.”
With the new remuneration package being endorsed, it also means that the government will spend SSP 524,000,000, on the 655 legislators in the TNLA and the Council of States on a monthly basis.
The 2.2 percent increase accounts for approximately 2.2 per cent of the total budget of SSP 338 billion approved by the August House last month for the fiscal year 2021/2022.
The figures from the committee for finance and planning revealed by the parliamentarians reveal SSP 338,043,747,701 was approved with a surplus of SSP 174,545,280,000, and the committee recommended that this surplus money be allocated to the spending agencies.
As it looks, the increment does not slash a huge chunk of the country’s national budget. Hence, the financial implications, in this case, could be somewhat minimal. It is also prudent to point out that the new salary package of SSP800, 000 being given to lawmakers may not be a huge burden in terms of cost. Someone could be asking why? This money is not exaggerated compared to what their counterparts earn, in other East African states. For example, Kenyan lawmakers earn in the region of $10,000, while South Sudanese MPs will earn in the region of $2,000. One may make a case that the Kenyan economy is several folds larger than that of the South Sudanese, which is true, but it is also imperative to note that these are people of the same cadre and bestowed with similar roles and expectations from the voters.
So what is the anecdote here? So, by endorsing this pay, the President made a wise decision. It is important that the MPs get good treatment as high-ranking state officers. They need to afford the basics of life: food, clothing, shelter, and medication. However, the biggest task that now awaits them is to match the expectations with the benefits bestowed upon them. They must demonstrate that they are worth the pay. Pending bills need to be handled forthwith within the stipulated deadlines so that the country can wholesomely actualise the rollout of the revitalised peace agreement on time.
