HAVE YOUR SAY
STATE OF THE PAYROLL
PAY HIKES FOR MINISTERS
How do you view the proposal to award pay hikes for ministers?
Sri Lanka Business Magazine
How do you view the proposal to award pay hikes for ministers?
Pay hikes should be given to ministers on performance basis as in any other profession. They should prove that they are worth it. An independent inquiry should be made on how they have developed their respective electoral districts and public views should also be considered for their performance analysis.
Massive pay hikes should not be given to ministers unless the Government has sufficient funds to allow such pay hikes to all other professionals. I am not trying to highlight a ministerial post as a professional career but at least it should be treated equally. Further, pay hikes should not be permitted to politicians who are subjected to financial crimes. Finally, even though a majority of the public would recommend such controls on earnings, we should also consider certain political situations that disrupt such rulings. For example, a minority government with less seats in the Parliament would be tempted to provide more and more privileges to ministers and parliamentarians in order to hang on to power and gain stability.
These happenings augur as if the politicians are further developing their ‘shameless’ traits. If a fraction of their brains can be put into function, they can do a self-assessment as to how worthy they are. Actually, this kind of mirroring will indicate how unscrupulous they are, with false promises, failed projects, misused funds and irresponsible deeds. Perhaps their brains are habitually programmed to perceive them to be rich in competency and integrity.
Indeed, these ministers are a double beating on the helpless public, majority of whom who live a righteous life. Ministers, as representatives of the public, are a cost to the society in many ways. This can be ramified with their heavy expenses, mistakes leading to waste of resources, allegations and seeking revenge and destroying the civility of a nation. Well, this costs more than numbers, more than what they are asking for.
Ministers, your duty should come first. Country before self.
First of all, ministers should be charged with penalties for wrong doings. Thereafter, their requests for pay hikes can be considered. This is a fair process for ministers who claim that they commit their lives to politics to serve innocent citizens.
For all wrongdoings and malpractices, the practice is that the current regime points the finger at the flaws and fallacies of the previous regimes. If the common man is imposed to bear the suffering of political wrong doings (with taxes and rising cost of living), why not deprive politicians of their salary increments?
Ministers are a menace to the nation and they are back to their old tricks. Like Oliver Twist, they want more.
But here are the non-eligible ministers basking in glory, already enjoying privileges and making their personal investments from public fund allocations. These privileges come in the form of non-financial benefits which form a large amount of perks, even exceeding the salary. These benefits are enough to live way beyond reasonable standards of living for ministers, and are temptations to indulge in luxuries.
Adding to this is the lack of transparency which result in many entitlements, derived from power and authority, going without trace. A large quantum of their assets go undeclared which makes it hard to determine whether it is right or wrong. Being in such a comfortable cushion, now they are ready to raise the placards.
Why not abolish the role of ministers and appoint a few good public servants?
Altercation by those who are not altruistic.
These days, it seems difficult for ministers to find topics to twist words around, of what has been done and things in the pipeline, which people can look forward to. As such, making it to the headlines has also become increasingly difficult. Accordingly, politicians find it hard to keep their public images afloat – a threat for retaining the respect and presence at public level.
This is sure to be an oncoming publicity ploy. Surely, these ministers want to create the next piece of ‘storytelling’ or ‘window dressing’ in the regime. What can be expected more likely, is that they will pretend to behave like a bunch of spoilt kids, circulating the next topic in society for a debacle. Then the real drama will start. Few ministers will step down and withdraw the request for the hike. This is an endeavour to score marks by the politicians in the face of public concern.
Pay hikes for ministers based on what? Will the Government review each minister’s professional qualifications and performance before granting these so called pay hikes?
If their performance is considered, majority of them do not deserve a cent.
It is those people who sent them to Parliament to serve the country, who deserve the pay hikes. The ministers, on the other hand, seem to be enjoying all the luxuries in life without any pay hikes.
Recently a minister in the present Government stated that ministers’
salaries must be increased to curb corruption and that in Singapore, a minister’s salary is around US$ 1 million. What this particular minister seems have ignored is the fact that Singaporean Ministers are educated and they have actively contributed for the country’s development. In addition, in Singapore, the punishment for corruption is imprisonment, even for ministers.
And what guarantee will this minister will give to his fellow countrymen, on curbing corruption? Their greed will never end, that is for sure.
At a time when the country is going through financial issues and the Government is begging for funds, the ministers should be ashamed to even talk about pay hikes, while sitting back and enjoying all the luxuries.
Shame on you, Sri Lankan ministers!
Over the past 40 years, earnings of ministers and MPs have risen two or four times the average wages of the population. While, the monthly wage of an MP is well over Rs. 150,000; that of a school teacher lies below Rs. 30,000. Add to that the duty free cars, generous expenses budget that parliamentarians get. Therefore, it is impossible to convince the common man that MPs deserve more money.
Military Generals, actors and cricketers, upon retirement, end up being peoples’ representatives. They swap their pension to a position with power and perks. The Parliament looks like a care home. Sri Lanka needs, not such people, but an educated and energetic group with desire to take the country forward, together with successful and intelligent businesspersons to drive the economy.
There is no chance for educated people, in politics under the current rat-race of a system. Private sector high-fliers will not consider politics either, because they will have to take a pay cut if they run for public office, which should be no surprise, unlike in other countries.
There are a couple of well-to-do MPs but they don’t demand pay hikes. Is there a single assiduous MP, who is appalled by his pay, compared to what he received previously, and yet insist that did not deter him because he is not doing it for the money? Not in this country anyway. It is people like those that we need in Parliament – genuine public servants who see their position as a vocation rather than a career.
In fact, politics must be made wage free entirely. When there are no perks, no robbers will enter. Perhaps, it would not be a bad idea if the Parliament is made of a council of ministers consisting of part-timing academics, businesspersons and probably some religious leaders, who are willing to place the country before themselves.
It is a known fact that ministers are appointed from the members who are elected to the Parliament. So it is us who appoint them to the Parliament.
You need to have some kind of an educational qualification even to get a job as an office assistant in the state sector.
However, it is interesting to know that a person could be appointed to the Parliament without any qualification.
Sri Lanka is a developing country and we need money for development, as well as to educate our children. As we all know, our country is presently going through a tough time with monetary issues. Especially during such times, all the ministers should take a policy decision not to ask or to accept any pay hikes, benefits and perks for themselves, as well as for their family members.
It is revealed that those benefits will be given from the tax collected from innocent people. So my personal view is it is sinful for ministers to expect or accept such benefits at a time when our country is experiencing financial crises. We need educated and uncorrupted people in the legislature.
I really feel sorry for these (seemingly) hard working men and women for their sacrificial contribution towards the betterment of the country.
During any parliament session or in any political campaign or rally, you can see the evidence of their sacrifices. They forget that they have children, forget that they have loved ones and forget that they have a culture. They even forget their gender and talk whatever comes to their mouths.
A minister is a person who is involved in ministering, or in other words attending to the needs of the needy. But when we look at them, we can see from the very first day that they attend to their needs. When you take the entire crowd, you find that only a handful of them minister to the society.
When we go back to the nineteen sixties, ministers were honoured by people, but not feared. They were welcomed by people voluntarily, not by paying money or gathering them forcibly. They spent their hard earned money for campaigns and even to attend the needs of the society.
But in the early seventies, from being an honorary position, it diverted to an employment where you work and earn. A minister gets over Rs. 100,000 a month excluding house rent and many other payments such as salaries of office staff, security persons and secretaries. This was the beginning of the corruption.
I’m not against the revision of their salaries. But it’s to be done systematically, depending on the performance of the ministers. On the very first day they should be given their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). They have to deliver what the Government expects. There must be evaluations of their performances.
We get our salary increments in the same way. Then why is it not applicable to the ministers of parliament?