Poor SA MPs need increases to their R1,1 million salaries to cope with cost of living, says Parliament

Amid the public outrage over the approval of salary increases for politicians and other government officials, Parliament says South African MPs, compared to their counterparts globally, earn less in salaries.

President Cyril Ramaphosa last week accepted the recommendations of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-Bearers to increase salaries by 3%.

Ramaphosa announced, in the government gazette, that the salary hikes would be backdated to April 2021 and apply to all categories of public office-bearers, including ministers and their deputies, premiers, MECs, MPs, Members of Provincial Legislatures (MPLs), traditional leaders and judges.

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In a statement on Tuesday, Parliament said it wanted to “clarify and put into correct context” the latest determination of annual salary increases for public office bearers.

Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the criticism that the 3% salary increases were “tone deaf” was far from the truth because ministers, MPs, and MPLs last had salary increases in April 2019.

He said in scrutinising the remuneration of MPs, South Africans should also benchmark the salary increases against those of their counterparts globally, particularly in similar developing countries.

“A desktop survey suggests that South African public representatives do not earn anywhere higher than those of countries with similar GDP and population, amongst other considerations.

“It is also worth noting that, as an additional safeguard, unlike in several other countries, South African MPs are barred from undertaking any other remunerative responsibilities outside of their parliamentary work.

“Should they take up such work, they are obligated to declare it for scrutiny in terms of the Ethics Code,” Mothapo said.

MPs’ remuneration packages

 Another important factor that was sometimes misinterpreted, Mothapo said, was the fact that salaries of MPs were published as a total remuneration package (total cost to company) and not cost-plus benefits.

“For example, if an ordinary MP earns say R1,1 million per annum, that includes the basic salary, a flexible portion, a travel allowance, a political office bearers’ allowance, and a contribution to the pension fund.

“Other deductions that will be taken from the salary includes tax (Pay as You Earn), medical aid, party contributions, village accommodation, and others authorised by the individual MP like a bond or car instalment.”

Mothapo further said that it was equally vital that public representatives were fairly remunerated consistent with their scale of responsibilities under the Constitution.

He said compared to public servants, MPs earned salaries at a scale equal to junior-level management.

“For instance, there is a total of 341 parliamentarians (minus ministers, deputy ministers and deputy president) in the National Assembly who are responsible for oversight over state institutions constituted of hundreds of thousands of employees, including high-ranking executives.

“Compared with salaries of public service employees, parliamentarians earn at scale equal to junior-level management.

“Further, with a 2022/2023 total parliamentary budget of R1,9 billion, R62 million of which allocated for oversight committees, parliamentarians are expected to conduct oversight over a national budget totalling R1,6 trillion.”

Public scrutiny

Mothapo added it was understandable that the remuneration of public representatives would often spark public debate.

He said this was due to the transparency with which their salaries were processed in public, constant scrutiny over their work, as well as the socioeconomic challenges faced by the country.

“In subscribing to checks and balances system that excludes them from having a say in the determination of their remuneration, parliamentarians demonstrated appreciation that public service is not about self-enrichment or luxury.

“In this regard, public representatives would be the last to insist on anything beyond an independently determined just, fair and sustainable remuneration commensurate with their obligations under the Constitution and the law.”

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe

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