2009-08-29 08:42:00
Politicians demand more amid pay rise
Some ministers have complained about the small salary increase
By Mkinga Mkinga
THE CITIZEN
Pressure from politicians and members of the Judiciary is said to have pushed the Government into taking the controversial decision to increase salaries of senior civil servants and MPs in the face of recession.
But the move, which the Government made in the belief it would mollify a wide cross-section of the erstwhile 'underpaid' senior civil servants has not achieved the expected results, as complaints are still prevalent even from those whose pay packages have been increased.
Senior officers within the Government who preferred anonymity, told The Citizen that it was because of pressure from politicians and stakeholders in the legal sector that pushed the Government into okaying salary increments much as it feared the move attract criticism given the current economic situation.
Reports show that the Government has granted massive salary increase to the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chief Justice as of the current financial year. Alongside the move, the Government pushed up the pay of various cadres of the political leadership including Members of Parliament.
Information brought to the attention of The Citizen and confirmed by some sources within the Government, indicates that those whose salaries have been upped include the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, ministers, their deputies, judges, regional commissioners and district commissioners.
Before the increment, monthly salaries of the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chief Justice stood at Sh2.76 million.
Each received a 75.7 per cent increase, pushing up the salaried of the two heads of pillars of the State to more than Sh4.8 million a month. Since this was made public earlier this week by The Citizen's Kiswahili sister daily, Mwananchi, there has been outrage from various quarters, with many criticising the Government for being concerned only with the "wellbeing of small section of its workforce".
But, defending the Government's decision, a senior official in the ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs who, however asked for anonymity, said the Government did not increase the salaries on its own volition.
The source said the ministry officials along with their Public Service Management counterparts were summoned to a meeting in which they received clear instructions to find ways to implement a decision that had already been made, namely, to raise salaries of some government executives.
"It was quite tricky � how do you ignore demands of salary increments from your bosses? All ministries are under those politicians, you know! I am not sure if they know that their order has caused a lot of problems not only in the ministry, but in the entire Government," the source said.
But sought for comments, the minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr Mustafa Mkulo, said he was not aware of the issue.
"Currently I'm in my Kilosa constituency, I have heard about it through media and a deputy minister commented by issuing details of the increment, so he might be more in the know regarding the matter than me," Mr Mkulo said.
However, the finance minister agreed that the issue was sensitive and was likely to raise discontent from most public servants.
But information obtained by The Citizen indicates that complaints have also been raised by some of the very people who have received pay rise.
Sources hinted that one official has been querying the criteria used to set the new salaries, citing the big gaps that now exist between cadres with almost matching responsibilities.
The deputy minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Omar Yussuf Mzee is on record as saying some ministers had phoned him complaining that the salary increase they received was too meagre compared to their "huge responsibilities".
Efforts to reach the Minister for State, Public Service Management Ms Hawa Ghasia, to clarify the Government move to increase salaries for some workers in the civil service have so far failed, for she could not be reached on her mobile phone each time we rang.
The permanent secretary, Mr George Yambesi, could not be reached either, as his phone rang incessantly without being picked.
Under the changes, salaries for the deputy speaker, MPs, minister and their deputies and judges have been increased.
The deputy speaker, who has been earning a monthly pay of Sh2 million, will now receive Sh2.17 million, while salaries for MPs have been raised from Sh1.84 million to Sh1.92 million.
According to the new rates, a High Court judge will get more than Sh3.64 million � up from Sh2.16 million and a Court of Appeal Judge will receive more than Sh4.2 million per month, up from Sh2.31 million.
Salaries for ministers have also been increased from Sh2.32 million to more than Sh2.4 million, while that of deputy ministers have been increased to over Sh2 million from Sh1.96 million.
The changes will also see a regional commissioner pocketing about Sh2.1 million, up from Sh2.08 million, while a district commissioner, who had been earning Sh1.84million, will now receive Sh2 million.
The Government decision drew immediate criticism from Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU) and workers� umbrella organisation, Tucta, saying they were shocked by the move because the same Government had told them that it cannot raise its employees' salaries due to the global financial crisis that has not spared Tanzania