ANGER OVER PARLY COOK’S E20 000 SALARY

MBABANE – Parliament staff is up in arms against Speaker Themba Msibi - again. Similar to the altercation that almost cost Msibi his job a little over two years ago, promotion of a female staff member is once more at the centre of the squabble.
This time, the Speaker, Senate President Gelane Zwane, Clerk to Parliament Ndvuna Dlamini and other members of the Parliamentary Service Board are said to have facilitated the promotion of Parliament cook Olga Mkhwanazi to a pay grade held by the Assistant Clerk at Table.

Other members of the Board are Senator Chief Kusa Dlamini and former Nkilongo Member of Parliament Trusty Gina.
Olga Mkhwanazi, whose official title -as enshrined in the Government Establishment Register- is that of Catering Officer, has been promoted from a C3 grade to D4.
The new pay scale for the D4 grade has five notches and carries a maximum monthly salary of E20 344.00 and a minimum of E18 075.42.

The new pay scale for Mkhwanazi’s previous C3 grade carries a maximum monthly salary E10 835.00 and a minimum of E9 626.67.
This in effect means that with the new promotion, Mkhwanazi has doubled her salary by having skipped five other grades, namely C4, C5, D1, D2 and D3.
By having jumped to D4 grade, Mkhwanazi’s new pay scale is now above her superiors, including the senior human resources officer, human resources officer, editor, network engineer i, accountant i, senior accountant ii, senior hansard transcriber, assistant accountant i and the technician.

The cook is now in the same salary grade as a deputy head teacher (senior secondary) and a head teacher (higher primary). She will now earn more than teachers who hold degrees as they are on C5 grade together with Secondary Teacher I.
Mkhwanazi will also earn more than nurses, staff nurses, social welfare officers and counselors.
When compared to the security forces, the cook will be earning in the bracket of assistant superintendents, police chaplains and band masters if she was in the Royal Swaziland Police and assistant superintendent if she was in His Majesty’s Correctional Services.

Colleagues not happy

Mkhwanazi’s promotion has infuriated other parliament employees, especially because they were reportedly told that staff promotions had been put on hold for over two years now.
What has also angered them further is that the grade to which Mkhwanazi has been elevated requires one to hold a bachelor’s degree and she does not possess one.

“This person is only a cook and we do not understand what criterion was used to promote her and to make matters worse, place her in this pay grade. This is an insult to assistant clerks at table,” one furious employee said.
Responsibilities of an assistant clerk at table include serving as a secretary in parliamentary sessions or proceedings for both Senate and Assembly Houses, compiling parliamentary reports and Bills for both Houses, facilitating and serving as a secretary in parliamentary committees’ meetings and compiling relevant reports for the various government ministries.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: