Times Of Swaziland: ROBERT MAGONGO CURIOUS  HOW MUCH MPS WILL EARN

ROBERT MAGONGO CURIOUS  HOW MUCH MPS WILL EARN
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 BY SIBONGILE SUKATI  on 01/11/2018 03:30:00


LOZITHA - He is known to speak without fear or favour, and that is exactly what
he did before His Majesty King Mswati III yesterday.
This is none other than Motshane MP Robert Magongo, who informed the King that
they were keen to know how much they would earn as the 11th Parliament.
This is because ever since the parliamentarians were sworn into office, they did
not have a Circular on their terms and conditions of service for the next five
years.
The MP said the King had appointed a commission to look into their conditions of
service, and they had hoped that by this time it would have been ready.
“We have been asking for lifts coming here and the other duties we have
undertaken as MPs, but we do not know what we are working for,” said MP
Magongo.
He said in previous years when they had been in office, the Speaker and Senate
president would have already had a hint of what they would be working on.
Magongo’s remarks were met with laughter from both the King and his
colleagues, as he submitted that he was there to report those responsible for
dealing with their circular.
Commission
The King appointed a commission, which was chaired by Eswatini Sugar Association
(SSA) CEO Phil Mnisi to look into the terms and conditions of service.
The 10th Parliament was remunerated under Finance Circular No. 2 of 2013 and by
the time the last Parliament left, MPs were paid a basic salary of about E46
000, while the late Prime Minister, Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, earned about E77
000.
Before making his remarks, Magongo’s colleagues had started murmuring among
themselves, and the MP told the King that he should not be bothered by his
colleagues’s utterances because they knew he would speak the truth.
As if Magongo knew that the issue of the new Circular was prudent, members of
the commission, including Mnisi, Standard Bank CE Mvuselelo Fakudze, Kobla
Quashie, Dr Sikhumba Gumbi, former PS Nomathemba Hlope, Joe Shilubane and its
secretary, lawyer Sidumo Mdladla, all turned up at the Mandvulo Hall.
The group was carrying documents , which were assumed to have contents of the
new legislators’ packages.
On another note, Magongo informed the King that what further destroyed the
economy in the country was gossip.