Africa-Press – Eswatini. Government continues paying outgoing Members of Parliament (MPs) constituency and entertainment allowances, among others.
The entertainment allowance is, however, an exclusive facility for ministers. ClearTax defines it as an amount of money to cover expenses for food, hotel stay, meals, movies, etc. It was initially presumed that the politicians of the 11th Parliament would only receive their basic salaries, but Eswatini News has learnt that this is not the case. It has been established that the Ministry of Finance ordered full payment of their salaries and allowances.
When queried about such facility, Setsabile Dlamini, the Communications Officer in the Ministry of Finance, said: “This also applied in the previous term in 2018, so this is not new.”
She said the term of office for politicians is five years as provided by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland (Eswatini). “The term of office for the politicians is five years as provided by the Constitution of Eswatini and the payment of salaries and allowances provided as such,” the communications officer explained. In 2013, the Ministry of Finance issued a memorandum dated August 6, in which government expressed that Members of Parliament would be entitled to the basic salary and all other allowances shall cease to accrue. The memo was issued after the King had dissolved the 10th Parliament on August 2, 2013.
Conditions
Since the Cabinet that was chaired by the late Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini was still in office, it was stated in the memo that the conditions of service for the then ministers, regional administrators, presiding officers and deputy presiding officers would continue to accrue, except the constituency allowance. Sipho Gumedze, a human rights attorney, said certain allowances such as those for entertainment and constituency disadvantaged the other candidates who had no means to finance their campaigns. He said he wanted government to explain to him what it meant by dissolution of Parliament.
“They are mistaken. Such allowances should have stopped,” Gumedze said. “They are not entitled.”
Pertaining to the new memo issued on July 25, 2023, parliamentarians’ salaries and allowances accruing to them under Finance Circular No.2 of 2013 shall be ‘paid in full until the day preceding the first meeting of the House following the general election.’ For instance, if the first meeting of the 12th Parliament will be held on October 31, 2023, the payment of salaries and allowances will stop on October 30, 2023. The memo’s heading is ‘Re: payment of salaries, allowances and terminal benefits for parliamentarians and their support staff.’
Stamped
It was signed by then acting Principal Secretary (PS), Nkululeko Dlamini. The PS’s office stamped it on July 25, 2023. The payments are reportedly based on Section 134 (1) (b) as read with Section 134 (6) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini. “Following the dissolution of Parliament on July 11, 2023, provisions of Section 134 (1) (b) read together with Section 134 (6) are of application,” partly reads the memorandum.
Section 134 (6) refers to the King’s powers to dissolve Parliament.
On the other hand, Section 134 (6) of the Constitution provides as follows: “Where Parliament is dissolved in terms of Subsection (1) (b) the Members of Parliament shall be deemed to have vacated office on the day, but one of the first meeting of the House after the general elections.” Based on Section 134 (6), the Ministry of Finance stated that the remuneration arrangements of the parliamentarians stood as follows:
Tindvuna tetinkhundla and bucopho are also classified in the Finance Circular No.2 of 2013 as parliamentarians. Meanwhile, the 2017 Circular for the support could not be obtained for reference. It must be said though that as emaSwati go to the polls today for the primary elections preceding the final phase scheduled for September 29, 2023, the ministers and backbenchers might be having reasonable airtime and data to communicate. This is due to the fact that ministers are entitled to a monthly communication allowance of E5 000.
In addition, the Cabinet ministers have a non-accountable entertainment allowance of E6 361 per month. They can do whatever they like with this money, as long as they are entertaining themselves. This facility is not subject to an audit or any form of an accounting scrutiny. Due to the three per cent salary increment, which resulted in their new basic salary of E65 518.97, the entertainment allowance for the ministers will rise to E6 551.
Today, seven ministers are expected to join the race to Parliament, which began with nominations. They were nominated to stand for the semi-finals of the general elections, legally referred to as the primary elections under the Tinkhundla System of Government.
The Cabinet members who are contesting are:
They shall be in office until September 25, 2023, just four days before the secondary elections. Outgoing Speaker Petros Mavimbela also enjoys an equal entertainment allowance as his salary was pegged with perks for ministers. The outgoing backbenchers in the House of Assembly and Senate are also entitled to the communication allowance. However, they get a maximum communication allowance of E1 000. Despite the fact that His Majesty the King dissolved Parliament on July 11, 2023, government has continued to pay constituency allowances for the outgoing members of the House and Senate. They receive 12.5 per cent of their basic salaries. An MP’s basic salary (old scale) is E49 000; meaning that the constituency allowance is E6 125 per month.
“All parliamentarians will be entitled to a constituency allowance. The allowance will be equal to 12.5 per cent of the basic pay of the Member of Parliament, payable per month,” reads Article 4.5.2 of Circular No.2 of 2013. The backbenchers are also receiving housing allowances equal to 10 per cent of their basic salaries. This translates to E4 900. On the other hand, the ministers are entitled to housing equal to 25 per cent of their basic salaries. Based on the old scale, the housing allowance was E15 902. After the increment, the allowance shall be E16 379.50.
Coordinating
Thembinkosi Dlamini, the Executive Director of the Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations (CANGO), said the contract between employer and employee should be respected, regardless of political position or otherwise. In terms of procedural fairness, Dlamini said there were some candidates who had thriving businesses who could afford to buy airtime or provide themselves with similar benefits. The executive director said certain candidates proceeded on full-pay leave to participate in the elections, some of whom were police officers and others.
Since the police officers and other cadres were not subjected to criticism, he said it would be unfair to blame government for continuing with payment of allowances for the ministers and outgoing members of the House and Senate. “It would be unfair to advise government to cut the allowances for the politicians because they form part of their contract with the employer,” Dlamini advised. He said other employees, on leave of absence, were entitled to housing and travel allowances. “The law says we must treat people equally,” he said. Contrary to popular perception, he said a minister who was still in office in Mbabane discharging government duties would not have an advantage over their rivals during the elections. Dlamini mentioned that while the ministers were busy in Mbabane, the other contesting candidates were on the ground campaigning.
Campaigning
“The minister who’s busy in Mbabane with policy matters that have nothing to do with his or her constituencies has little time for campaigning,” the CANGO executive director said. He advised the electorate to use the power of the ballot box to discipline politicians who might be tempted to divert government programmes to their constituencies. “The only way to discipline people who use government equipment for campaigning is to withdraw your vote,” he said. “Otherwise, we cannot blame them for the entertainment and other allowances that they are getting from government.” On August 14, 2023, the Times of Eswatini carried a story about the ministers who are contesting in the primary elections today. The ministers disputed assertion that they were in a better position to outwit their rivals because they were still in office.
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