Photo: UN
PANA
Lusaka, Zambia – Zambian President Michael Sata, has dismissed assertions that he decided to award himself a 10 percent salary increment.
According to President Sata, his salary, salaries and allowances for the Vice- President, Chief Whip, Leader of Opposition, Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Members of Parliament were determined by the Standing Orders Committee of Parliament.
“…the procedure is once the Standing Orders Committee has determined what increment to award, the Minister of Finance issues a Statutory Instrument. In fact, this year, the Committee, which includes opposition Members of Parliament met and came up with an increment of 10 percent taking into account the national resource and notwithstanding the fact that the civil service was awarded increments ranging from 0 per cent to more than 150 percent,” President Sata explained in a statement issued Wednesday.
President Sata emphasised that this decision was made at Parliament by both the ruling party and opposition Members of Parliament, whose salaries have equally been revised upwards.
“I urge all opposition Members of Parliament to take time and explain this slight adjustment to their party leaders to avoid shooting themselves in the foot,” Sata stated.
Recently, opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) vice-president for politics, Canisius Banda, described as “madness” the decision by the ruling Patriotic Front government to increase the salaries of the Republican president, Sata, and all government ministers, especially when the Zambian government barely survives on borrowed money to Finance the budget.
|
|
|
