Correspondent|Finance minister Mthuli Ncube is pushing to review parliamentary sitting allowances, among a cocktail of proposals, aimed at cutting down the government employment costs, the Mail and Telegraph has learnt.
Zimbabwe gobbles close to 92% of its income through civil service wage bill leaving a paltry 8% for infrastructure development hence massive shortages of drugs, failure to maintain its areas to international financiers as well as a ballooned power import debt.
During his pre-budget presentation last week in Bulawayo, Ncube proposed, among many other solutions, reviewing the parliamentary sitting allowances, a move that is likely to make him unpopular with legislators across the political divide.
In his presentation on the wage bill containment measures Ncube proposed: “maintaining freeze on filling non-critical posts, enforcing retirement policy, reduction in budget travel expenditures, rationalisation of the foreign service missions, review of parliamentary sitting allowances and limiting expenditures on by-election.”
Investigations show that parliamentarians are paid US$75 per sitting which translates to US$26 250 for both houses per sitting.
Parliament then pays close to US$245 000 every month in salaries for the two houses (Senate and National assembly).
Ncube, this week, succumbed to pressure from legislators after he had proposed to delay the purchasing of their vehicles in order to reduce government expenditures.
During his presentation Ncube promised to buy vehicles for parliamentarians, although there are still deliberations over the modalities.
“I am on the side of making sure that you get your vehicles, but we have been debating as to whether we give you a 100 percent loan, partial loan or zero loans so we have that action on the table but either way vehicles are on the way,” he said, while addressing legislators who are gathered in Bulawayo for the 2019 pre-budget seminar on Thursday.
Under the Parliamentary Vehicle Loan Scheme, Treasury purchases the cars for the MPs; who in turn pay back the money as a loan during their five-year tenure in the National Assembly.
Generally, the legislators buy the brand new, all-terrain SUVs for a song — as the repayment terms are extremely friendly and flexible.
M&T