Africa-Press – South-Africa. The top echelon of South Africa’s public servants – including cabinet minister, members of Parliament, judges, and traditional leaders – should get salary increases of 3.8%, President Cyril Ramaphosa has been advised.
This is even though his finance minister really, really wanted to see a much lower number, and despite a demand from some judges for a much higher number.
The Presidency on Friday published the annual recommendation of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-bearers, which must by law consider a range of factors, then give Ramaphosa a recommendation. He is ultimately responsible for deciding the pay of those office bearers, and he has a track record of coming in below the commission’s recommendation.
Whichever way he goes, the commission’s report makes clear, Ramaphosa can expect trouble.
During its consultations, the commission reported, finance minister Enoch Godongwana “pleaded with the commission to consider the prevailing adverse economic conditions and the extent to which the general population is affected by the low economic state in which the country finds itself.”
Some ministers, lawmakers and some judges are overpaid, Godongwana said, tools-of-trade benefits mean public office bearers get effective increases above just their salary increases, there isn’t money in the budget, and people may not be impressed to see them get a big increase.
Godongwana recommended 1.5%, plus a once-off cash payment of the kind given to bureaucrats and technocrats – and which do not increase the baseline salary when it comes to increases in future years.
Some judges, on the other hand, wanted much more than Godongwana thought they were due, the commission’s report shows.
The Lower Courts Remuneration Committee, which effectively represents 1 620 magistrates, argued with the commission’s inflation calculations and said it should recommend nothing lower than a 7% increase. Meanwhile, the Heads of Court Committee on Judges Remuneration, which speaks for 237 judges, submitted numbers on the “inflationary erosion of judges’ salaries” – which means they earn an effective 20.6% less than they did seven years ago.
However, justice minister Ronald Lamola supported a 3.8% recommendation for both the judiciary and state institutions supporting democracy, such as the Public Protector.
If the 3.8% recommendation is implemented, Ramaphosa would earn just under R3.2 million per year. The deputy president, National Assembly speaker and National Council of Provinces chair, and the chief justice would all make just over R3 million per year for the first time. Ordinary high and labour court judges would breach R2 million per year, and the lowest-paid magistrates would go from R1.045 million per year to R1.085 million per year.
The highest-paid public official that falls under the recommendation would be the Auditor General, who would earn R5.4 million per year.
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