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MANZINI - Government is facing financial challenges and the available budget will only cater for additional personnel (recruits).

This is the position of government, which was stated by the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg and the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Service, Sipho Tsabedze.

The minister was informed about the concern by members of the State security organs and that following the King’s statement, their needs (welfare and working equipment) should be addressed, they demanded the implementation of Phase II of the Salary Restructuring (Circular No. 2 of 2014).

Thereafter, he was asked if government had budgeted to address the welfare issues and buy working tools for the State security organs.

He was also asked that if government did not have the budget to address the above mentioned issue, would a supplementary budget be tabled?

In response, the minister said the matter of welfare was handled by the employer - the Ministry of Public Service.

However, he stated that currently the available budget was for additional personnel.

Similar questions were sent to the PS in the Ministry of Public Service and he said there was nothing he could add to what the Minister of Finance had said.

“The truth of the matter is that government is faced with financial challenges as everybody in the country is aware,” the PS said.

In the police service, the salary restructuring exercise of 2014 saw the salary scale of the senior superintendents hiked by four per cent.

Those promoted from senior superintendent to assistant commissioner realised a pay increase of 22.5 per cent; the six who were moved from the position of assistant commissioner to the newly-created rank of senior assistant commissioner realised a pay rise of about 8.99 per cent; the four deputy commissioners whose rank was reviewed to that of deputy national commissioner, had their pay increased by 5.9 per cent; and the national commissioner had his salary increased by 9.99 per cent.

Increasing

The restructuring resulted in the number of senior police officers (between senior superintendent to national commissioner) increasing from 37 to 53.

Meanwhile, at HMCS, the number of superintendents was increased by eight, from 15 to 23; assistant commissioners went up by eight, from 10 to 18; four officers were appointed into the newly-created rank of senior assistant commissioner; the rank of deputy commissioner was reviewed to that of deputy commissioner general; and that of the commissioner was reviewed to commissioner general.

This led to the number of senior officers (between senior superintendent and commissioner general) increasing by 20, from 29 to 49.

For the REPS, the number of senior officers further increased by 22, from the 53 recommended in the 2014 restructuring to the current 93 officers as reflected in the Government Establishment

Register for the 2020/2021 financial year.

The second drastic increase in the number of senior REPS officers saw the complement of senior superintendents rising by 15, from 26 to 41; followed by the creation of the rank of assistant commissioner, which has 18 officers occupying it; there was then the creation of the rank of senior assistant commissioner, which had 13 officers appointed to it.

There was also creation of a new rank referred to as assistant national commissioner, which had six officers appointed to it; the number of officers occupying the rank of deputy national commissioner was increased by six, from four to 10; an additional rank of senior deputy national commissioner was also created and four officers were appointed to it; and then the national commissioner completes the senior ranked police officers.

At the HMCS, the number of senior officers has been increased by a further 32 officers, from 49 to 77.

The number of senior superintendents was increased by two, from 23 to 25; assistant commissioners were increased by five, from 18 to 23; senior assistant commissioners were increased by six, from four to 10; there was then the creation of a new rank known as chief assistant commissioner, into which eight officers were appointed; deputy commissioner generals were doubled from three to six officers; a new rank of commissioner was also created and four officers were appointed to it; and the commissioner general completes the list.