Stop it! We cannot afford this luxury!

07 November, 2009 10:00:00 By Alec Lushaba

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Finance Minister Majozi Sithole

There is no explanation for the review of politicians’ salaries masquerading as adjustment of their terms and conditions of service.

That their basic salaries were not reviewed does not make this act less insensitive to the plight of the Swazi nation. Just recently, politicians’ salaries were adjusted by 12% when those of public servants were reviewed in April.
In fact, one wonders that what do our politicians want? In less than five years time, they reviewed their salaries, spending a lot of money into consultants, de-linking their salaries from those of public servants.
It appears that exercise did not satisfy them at all, because the pen had not dried when politicians’ salaries were increased by 120%. That also was not enough, as public servants salaries were reviewed by KPMG consultants, making our bureaucrats wages competing with those of their counterparts in the private sector.
As though they were not satisfied, hardly six months after their salaries increase they looked at other options open to them to increase their bottom line.
Politicians are loaded with benefits, but in an effort to hood-wink the public to make their act less devilish, they decided to adjust their benefits, from sitting allowances, car, communications or anything they could lay their hands on.
Look, there is nothing wrong with pampering your leader, especially when he deserves such pampering. But in our case, this came at a wrong time. What are they rewarding themselves for - that 600 SAPPI employees will be jobless by the end of the year? Are they celebrating that our major source of revenue, SACU receipts, will be cut at the turn of the year or rewarding themselves for finally introducing free primary education? All indications at the moment points to a bleak future when it comes to our major sources of revenue and the global economic downturn has in fact worsened the situation. Are we led by people who are oblivious of the global economic dynamics or what? I thought the Prime Minister Dr. Barbanas Sibusiso Dlamini and Finance Minister Majozi Sithole are two learned fellows, who appreciate the world of economics.
In fact, if the prime minister can proclaim an end to lavish end-of-year parties, you surely expect that all his actions should resonate with that statement. But what is he communicating here – that we should cut all big spending in order to finance lavish lifestyle?
Our government has a poor record of saving jobs and we are not even expecting any thing from the SAPPI saga.
I can point to Bulembu, a ghost town, which had the entire infrastructure and had employed Swazis in their hundreds which also closed down.
What will change in Bhunya – nothing! It will soon turn into a ghost town and a haven for thugs and a headache for the communities who have been befitting from the existence of SAPPI.
Coming back to the issue at hand, South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan as recent as October 27, 2009 during his Mid Term Budget Policy stated the following: “Customs and excise duties will be R9 billion lower, due to the decline in
imports. The fall in customs revenue will negatively affect Southern African Customs Union members, which highlights the urgency of completing the proposed review and revision of the SACU revenue-sharing formula. In total, tax revenue is expected to be some R70 billion less than the February budget projection.”
Let me put this further into context. Swaziland’s total budget is 60% dependent on SACU receipts.
If then what Gordhan stated is true, how do we then expect to finance this huge expenditure? We have planned to deliver Free Primary Education to at least to the first and second grades at the beginning of 2010 and further spend over E100 million into the education of orphaned and vulnerable children.
We are expected to continue financing our elderly or any adult Swazi who has reached the age of 60. We still expect Bennedict Xaba at the Ministry of Health to give us first class healthcare services and ensure that we don’t run out of drugs. We still expect Mtiti Fakudze at the Ministry of Public Service to ensure that the over-sized public service is paid on time. Where is this money going to come from – I ask myself? Do we expect, Swaziland Revenue Commissioner General in-waiting, Dumsani Masilela, to perform miracles?
Are we not setting the Revenue Commission for failure, by putting so much pressure on it by expecting it to generate the balance of our E12 billion budget?
What if the finance minister sees no solution then decides to increase taxes in order to maintain this huge expenditure?
In fact, what kind of response and defence will the public service minister give when public servants demand increases on their benefits as well, especially the contentious over time, housing and medical allowances?
I am further reliably informed that despite that the SACU receipts will be less than the usual E5-E6 billion annual receipt, we have a debt of E1 billion with SACU which we are still expected to settle.
Are we not then going to find ourselves confronted with the 2004/05 financial year predicament where we literally lived from hand-to-mouth through SACU receipts?
In fact, it is an illusion to think that these adjustments affect politicians; we know that all standing committees and commissions are paid at the same rate as ministers or MPs, hence they will also expect to benefit thus eating on our merger resources.
The issue of lavish spending is not a phenomenon for Swaziland, even big economies like South Africa are embroiled in debates of trying to curtain the executive spending amid job losses and economic strife.
A number of ministers taste for expensive wheels like Higher Education’s Blade Ndzimande, Communications’ Siphiwe Nyanda have been condemned by workers’ federations for being insensitive to the plight of the masses.
What we are saying here is that government must walk the talk – if we are saying we are living in trying economic times, our actions must be in concert with that.
We cannot be seen to be condemning exorbitant spending on one hand whilst doing the same on the other.
That MPs are broke, as it was reported recently, is not our fault, but signs of the times, which calls for more prudent spending and fiscal discipline. Discipline means suspending some spending even some benefits including salary increments. This does not say so, in fact, it is even worse when there is a back pay to April.