OARD ALLOWANCE ISSUES

Member of Parliament (MP) Musa Kunene, said according to the Constitution, salaries were not paid to Board members but allowances instead.

Vice Chairperson of the PAC Sibusiso Nxumalo said Finance had no right to issue an order without backing it.

“The growth of a nation relies on good governance. Therefore, this issue has to be aligned with what the Constitution says,” said Nxumalo.

Manzini Region MP Busisiwe Mavimbela said this was not the fault of the salary earners and she sympathised with them, stating that freezing their salaries would tamper with their prerogatives as breadwinners in their families.

Empathetic

The PAC chairperson, to this, said they could not condone something which was contrary to the Constitution and good governance simply because of being empathetic.

Lozitha MP Prince Mfanawenkhosi said it was shocking that the ministries had come before the PAC without engaging each other accordingly on the issue at hand, and suggested that they should go and consult with each other further.

The PAC chairperson further requested that the ministries go back to the drawing board on the matter and gave them till the end of June.

Ngudzeni MP Big Boy Mamba said he thought the chairperson would send them back to freeze the salaries as they had contravened the Constitution.

“At this rate the courts should determine the difference between a salary and an allowance because as far as I know, these people were supposed to get an allowance and they are getting salaries instead, which is incorrect,” he said.

Director of Land Affairs in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy Gabisile Mabuza, who spoke from a legal perspective, said the Constitution was clear that they would be paid an allowance, not a salary.