{"id":20073,"date":"2022-04-07T20:46:57","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T20:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/president-hichilemas-salary-can-he-explain-why-he-has-managed-to-do-away-with-it"},"modified":"2022-04-07T20:55:05","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T20:55:05","slug":"president-hichilemas-salary-can-he-explain-why-he-has-managed-to-do-away-with-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/president-hichilemas-salary-can-he-explain-why-he-has-managed-to-do-away-with-it","title":{"rendered":"President Hichilema\u2019s salary, Can he explain why he has managed to do away with it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. <\/strong><\/span>President Hakainde Hichilema has not received a salary since he was elected in August 2021. He says a salary has never been his motivation for seeking public office. According to him, he has not received his salary because he simply didn\u2019t pay attention, as he has been too busy trying to better the lives of the people. While it is commendable that for the first time, we have a Head of State who is prepared to work for Zambians pro bono, the decision not to receive a government salary cannot be a personal one. It is a policy issue. This is because the salaries of constitutional office holders are fixed and approved by Parliament.<\/p>\n

President Hichilema should state clearly that he does not desire a government salary so that the allocation can be frozen for the next five years. That would enable the Ministry of Finance channel the funds to other needy areas, including the paying of hundreds of civil servants currently not on payroll because the government has no money. But the idea that President Hichilema has been too busy to worry about his salary is most troubling, as it suggests that as President all his needs are met by the State or his personal income is so high that the government salary is nothing in comparison. Whichever is the case, President Hichilema has exposed a serious contradiction in the remuneration of our heads of state. This is that, while they are entitled to a government salary, they may have easy access to government funds or receive donations in cash from well-wishers.<\/p>\n

In 1993 it was discovered that an unscrupulous individual was drawing President Frederick Chiluba\u2019s presidential salary from a bank account in Ndola. We have also witnessed other former presidents either reducing their official salary or donating huge amounts of money to so-called worthy causes, schools, churches and health facilities or youth and women\u2019s empowerment ventures. In 2019, for example, former president Edgar Lungu took a 50% pay cut and a year later demanded that his cabinet colleagues donate 20% of their salaries to the government to help the government meet its debt obligations. The decision, which was clearly unconstitutional, was predicated on the assumption that cabinet ministers and senior civil servants received hefty salaries, which should be shared with ordinary citizens. It was a cheap way of hoodwinking the Zambian people into thinking that our political leadership was empathetic to the plight of the Zambian poor.<\/p>\n

While I dare not question the morality of President Hichilema forgoing his salary, as the first Zambian president to do so, I am interested to understand, whether he has access to government funds outside his official salary. He may be a very wealthy man, by Zambian standards, but there are many wealthy heads of state in Africa who receive official government salaries. So the question of declaration of his assets, especially his commercial interests may not easily go away. Zambians may wish to know whether their president has another way of earning an income other than his official salary.<\/p>\n

It will also be important for President Hichilema to pay special attention to his salary, as unscrupulous individuals will begin to draw it, since he does not need it \u2013 others will see an opportunity to pocket it, as was the case with Chiluba\u2019s salary. But as far as I am concerned, President Hichilema should not shun his salary. It is his entitlement, and he is at liberty to use it in anyway he pleases, including donating it to charity. Not receiving the government salary gives the impression it is unnecessary; its too little compared to what he is worth or there are many other official revenue streams in State House that he can draw on. While I commend President Hichilema\u2019s declared selfless service to our country pro bono, I am acutely alive to the temptations in that highest office, given his extensive commercial interests.<\/p>\n

In the interests of transparency and in adherence to our Constitution, I will urge President Hichilema to come out clean and declare that he does not desire to receive a government salary during his presidency. Such a declaration should be followed by a policy pronouncement that will be gazetted by Secretary to the Cabinet to the effect that the salary of the President will be frozen on his instructions and the funds allocated to other causes. We don\u2019t want to hear of a presidential slush fund or so-called presidential initiatives, as another way of siphoning public funds to private pockets. It is my hope President Hichilema will raise the bar on probity and integrity in the office of President during his tenure.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. President Hakainde Hichilema has not received a salary since he was elected in August 2021. He says a salary has never been his motivation for seeking public office. According to him, he has not received his salary because he simply didn\u2019t pay attention, as he has been too busy trying to better […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":20072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,8,16],"tags":[234,235,233],"class_list":["post-20073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-zambia","tag-zambia"],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Hichilema\u2019s salary, Can he explain why he has managed to do away with it - Zambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"President Hakainde Hichilema has not received a salary since he was elected in August 2021. 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