President Rupiah Banda has explained that the 15 per cent salary increment for public service workers would affect this year’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In this year’s K10.6 trillion budget, parliament approved K5.1 trillion, which translates into 47.6 per cent of the budget, for personal emoluments.

President Banda said government had only budgeted for an 11 per cent salary increment for public service workers this year.

He said the 15 per cent salary increment was therefore above the 11 per cent that was budgeted for salary increments for civil servants this year.

Recently, the country experienced a spate of industrial unrest when public service workers around the country, mainly in the health and education sectors, demanded a salary increment and an increase in other allowances.

“The unions rejected the programmed salary increment of 11 per cent and settled for a minimum of 15 per cent increment which translated to 48.9 per cent of the K10.6 trillion domestic revenues,” he said.

He said this has pushed up the expenditure on personal emoluments from K5.1 trillion (47.6%) to K5.2 trillion, resulting into an increase of K145.3 billion over the prepared total budget.[quote]

Mr. Banda said this additional amount would have to be sourced by reducing expenditure and by suspending other programmes.

“This will negatively affect the implementation of other government programmes,” he said.

He further explained that the current wage bill means that 50 per cent of government domestic revenues are spent on one per cent of the population. The one per cent of the Zambia’s population is 170,000 people.

“As Zambians, we must take the decision as to whether spending half of the budget on this small number of people is right or justified,” he said.

He added that “If 50 per cent of the domestic revenues is spent on personal emoluments, how then do we provide other necessities, the social and economic infrastructure including roads, hospitals, schools and energy, defence and security, which are critical to economic growth and poverty reduction”.

President Banda appealed to the striking nurses and other health sector workers to return to work.

Nurses have refused to return to work until their demands for an increase in their uniform and night duty allowances and an introduction of risk allowance are paid.

“May I appeal to our workers to be sensitive to the economic reality that this country is facing. You may want to learn from other countries, such as Ireland where workers are taking salary cuts as a result of the global economic crisis,” he said.

He also cited the British Airways employees who have agreed to forego a month’s salary to help the company, as one other example Zambians should take.

“That is the kind of attitude we need to inculcate in our people, including myself as President and ministers,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, President Banda has constituted a salaries and wages commission that would look into the current structure of the wages and salaries in the public sector,” he said.

He has appointed Professor Muyunda Mwanalushi as Chairperson of the Commission, whose other members would be announced in due course.

ZANIS

By Wesley Ngwenya

addressing the much anticipated press conference. There are so many things that Rupiah touched on. Here are a few highlights that need to be discussed.

In his response to the global economic crisis the president stated that;

1. Senior government officials should use government vehicles for intended purposes only and not park the vehicles at home
2. Reduce foreign traveling and officials on all trips unless absolutely necessary
3. Government workshops should be held in ministry boardrooms not lodges and hotels.

It is commendable that Rupiah was able to highlight these issues as a response to the current economic crisis. However, are these really new measures? Shouldn’t these things have be done with or without the economic crisis? Aren’t government officials supposed to use government vehicles and benefits for work and not personal use in the first place? These are not intelligent measures to respond to the economic crisis. The abuse of government resources have been going on for a long time now. Besides, what measures are Rupiah putting in place to ensure that they will be adhered to?

The president addressed the Zamtel issue by setting up a commission headed by minister of finance. In addition, he defended the proposed ZESCO increase in tariffs by sixty percent. It is unfortunate that we are back to the same position on Zamtel.

Looks like the president is particularly quick in setting up commissions since he has also set up a salaries commission. We already have various ministries and government departments that should be able to deal with the Zamtel issue. We know what happened to some of the commissions such as the Chirwa Tribunal that wasted government resources on something that was not going to be respected by the same appointing authority. What the president failed to justify on the ZESCO tariffs is how much of the company’s revenue go to paying salaries of employees.

On procuring hearses, the president refused responsibility that he was unaware of the purchase but stated that our people needed to be buried with dignity. Interesting. Apparently, for Rupiah, it is more important for us to be buried with dignity and not live with dignity. Many Zambians are worried about where they find money for food or to send their children to school and not how fancy their coffins should be. It’s a shame that the president should make such insulting remarks to the many Zambians living in poverty.

Zambians expected some specifics from the press conference instead of using it to insult the opposition. Rupiah must learn to live with the opposition. He must not feel intimidated. The opposition parties are there to create checks and balances that parliament cannot do. They are there to defend our democracy. Lately, we have actually seen more leadership from the opposition than the president himself. It is very insulting for Rupiah to make a statement such as “shame on the Zambians who are under the leadership of HH.” Zambians are free to follow their political leaders of choice and therefore should not be intimidated by the head of state.

It is disappointing that Rupiah has taken this long to even say something regarding the many issues that are affecting our nation. The president is barely reacting to public pressure and not providing proactive leadership. He should have addressed these issues head on instead of busy flying around the region when there is so much of a crisis in our country. The president even failed to apologize to the many Zambians who have lost their lives as a result of the national strikes by nurses and doctors around the country. What the president is trying to do is unfortunately too little too late.

GOVERNMENT says meeting improved conditions of service demands of striking nurses will entail hospitals and other health centres going without drugs for at least one or two months.

Minister of Health Kapembwa Simbao said this is because his ministry might be forced to obtain money from key areas such as provision of drugs and equipment to meet nurses’ demands.

“Everyone must understand that you can only move around the same money. If you undertake an activity that was not planned for, it means you have to move money from some other area to put into that activity.

And the only place where this money can be obtained from is the budget for drugs, equipment or infrastructure,” Mr Simbao said.

He said such reallocation of money will see hospitals go without drugs for at least one or two months.
“This is where we have a problem. For one or two months, hospitals might have no drugs,” Mr Simbao said.

He said this after touring the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) to check the situation at the institution.

Mr Simbao said if the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane objects to the reallocation of money meant for drugs, equipment and infrastructure towards nurses’ demands, then the money might have to be sourced from other ministries.

He said the problem Government has is denying Zambians drugs and critical services to meet nurses’ demands.

“Should we deny people drugs, clinics and equipment? We have that big problem. Once we make that decision, some people will have to suffer,” he said.
Mr Simbao said nurses have not yet resumed work at UTH except for a few.[quote]

He said Government will continue talking to the nurses with the hope that they understand what Government is able to do for them at the moment.

“We have to continue talking to people. We must reach a position where it must be understood what, as Government, we can do,” he said.

Mr Simbao said his tour of UTH was meant to help him see what could be done about the situation at the hospital.

“I came to see how the hospital is being run so that I may be in a position to see what needs to be done,” he said.

Striking nurses have agreed to go back to work on condition that Government and their union leaders sign a commitment agreement that will indicate the time-frame in which their demands for improved conditions of service will be addressed.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Austin Liato said on Monday that Government will get back to the nurses and their unions over their demands for a commitment agreement.

[Zambia Daily Mail]