On the pay raise
7 January, 2009 – What is the purpose of a government salary revision? It is not to make the lives of public servants more comfortable but to help build a government that can serve the people better. Does that sound too esoteric?
With the salary discussion scheduled for January 19, the government is attempting to instigate public debate by placing the pay commission’s proposal online on the finance ministry’s web site. That is a good idea but, since the real public does not have access to the Internet debate, will be limited to a few mid-level officials and a smaller number of private sector individuals.
The risk is that such a salary debate can be limited, by implication, to “I am not getting enough,” although the current trend has been to criticise the wide gap. And, since the discussion will be held in parliament, a final decision could be decided by a perceived backlash, which may or may not be fair to public servants anyway.
The reality, which the pay commission may or may not have considered, is whether the government’s revenue allows such a raise. The rumours are strong that the government cannot pay the Nu 2.269 billion every year, that would be required, according to the recommendation of the pay commission, although the pay commission has actually proposed ways to make the funds available.
We are also aware that, while the public has been shown one proposal, the government is working on at least one more. It is likely that, if compared, the pay commission’s proposal will be better reasoned and the finance ministry will be more cautious.
In the end, what we are likely to see is the total amount that the government can afford to allocate to a pay raise and, within that, the proportionate division. The issue here will be prioritisation of jobs when it comes to parliamentarians, civil servants, the judiciary, and then to professions like doctors, teachers, engineers. We live in a society, perhaps no different from others, where we all believe that ours is the most important profession.
Priorities change all the time and, today, we will have to consider the implications to the Constitution. We want good leaders, we will have to pay for them, in all three branches of the government. Let us not begrudge the politicians, who took the risks that we all had the opportunities to take.
The check on the leaders themselves is that, if they make the wrong decisions, and the gaps are too large, they will not last.
“In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme”
Source: Kuenselonline