Times Of Swaziland: ROYAL COMMISSION’S E18 000 ALLOWANCE PER SITTING

ROYAL COMMISSION’S E18 000 ALLOWANCE PER SITTING
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Ntombi Mhlongo on 28/02/2022 08:52:00


MBABANE – Taxpayers will fork out close to E18 000 each time the commission
that will work on the remuneration for politicians of the 12th Parliament sits.
The Royal Commission on the Terms and Conditions of Service for the Members of
Parliament and Statutory Boards and Commissions, has been reappointed and this
time around, they will be paid for their services. This is according to a
gazette which was issued by the Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg last week.
Chairing the commission is Eswatini Sugar Association (SSA) Chief Executive
Officer (CEO), Dr Phil Mnisi while Senior Attorney Sidumo Mdladla is the
Secretary.
Members
The rest of the members are REDI Director Dr Sikhomba Gumbi, former Principal
Secretary Nomathemba Hlope, Standard Bank Chief Executive Mvuselelo Fakudze,
Chartered Accountant Kobla Quashie and Joseph Shilubane. When the seven-member
commission was appointed by His Majesty King Mswati III into office in March
2018, it went on to work on Circular No.3 for the remuneration of politicians
and did so without being paid. This time around, the gazette states that they
will claim sitting allowances. According to the gazette, the chairperson will be
paid E2 720 per sitting while the members will take E2 510. This means that each
sitting will cost the taxpayer E17 780 in allowances. The number of sittings the
commission will have are not known, but it is anticipated that there will be
numerous since a lot of individuals from the different commissions are expected
to be engaged.
According to the gazette, the functions of the commission include developing the
terms and conditions of service of the 12th Parliament, statutory Boards and
commissions, taking into account the role, status, duties, functions and
responsibilities of relevant public office bearers, judges of the superior court
of judicature and judges of the Industrial Court. The commission will also take
into account the affordability of different levels of remuneration of political
office bearers, current principles and levels of remuneration in society
generally and the allowance for the effect of inflation. Also to be taken into
account will be the resources available to the State, remuneration structure of
the private and public sector including state-owned entities and any other
factor that the commission may consider relevant.
Another function of the commission will be to mediate in any dispute regarding
the circular that sets out the recommendations on the perspective terms and
conditions of service. It will also recommend policies and guidelines where
necessary in relation to any of the terms and conditions. Furthermore, the
commission will exercise any other function that may be necessary for the
attainment of the aforementioned functions. “The commission shall report
directly to His Majesty King Mswati III. The commission shall submit its report
on or before July 29, 2022,” reads part of the gazette. It is stated in the
gazette that the term of office of the commission shall be a period of six
months. “The term of office may be renewed for a further period not exceeding
three months,” it was stated.
Expenses
Apart from the sitting allowance, the gazette provides that where applicable,
the members of the commission shall be reimbursed for travelling expenses at the
rate of E3.50 per kilometre.
Worth noting is that, when the commission was first appointed to work on the
terms and conditions of service for the 11th Parliament, it was expected to wind
up its task at the end of March 2018 and report its findings back to the King.
However, after several extensions, the commission eventually delivered its
report 15 months after the initial assignment. The commission was appointed by
His Majesty King Mswati III following calls which were made by emaSwati during
the Sibaya national dialogue that the terms and conditions of service of Members
of Parliament, including cabinet, should be determined by the King. It was
stated that the commission may, where necessary, approach other SADC countries
for knowledge-sharing and benchmarking to allow it to keep abreast with
international trends.
Parliament
Meanwhile, an expert in the field of politics and economics commended His
Majesty and government for making sure that the commission worked on the terms
and conditions early, before the next Parliament assumes office. “It is a good
thing to work on the circular when the people it will affect have not assumed
office yet, because once they do, there is a high chance that they will
influence the terms and conditions,” said the expert. He expressed hope that
this time around, the circular that the commission will submit will be used.
“It was a noble thing that last time they spent time working on a circular
that ended up not being used. This time around the members will be paid so
government needs to avoid a situation where money will be paid and then the
final product is not used,” he said.