ROYAL COMMISSION’S E18 000 ALLOWANCE PER SITTING

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.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: