Elected officials must lead by example with substantial salary cuts

BIG companies such as EOH, Woolworths, Mr Price and Independent Newspapers are taking big salary cuts of between 15% to 50% after the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) announced that South Africa’s economy will be hard hit in 2020 due to the impact of the coronovirus and national lockdown.

There is no doubt that the pandemic will have catastrophic implications for our economy, as many face the bleak prospect of losing their jobs.

The Activists Movement of South Africa (Amsa) is a non-political watchdog body that holds our public representatives accountable to the electorate for the promises they make, and the decisions they support in the government.

We are of the firm belief that elected officials (all councillors, MPs, MPLs and their executives) should lead by example and take a salary cut based on a sliding scale, with ordinary members contributing 30% of their pay as the minimum.

We are certain that all elected officials will support this proposal, as they rely on the same voters who are hardest hit in these times to get into power.

India has already set in place legislation that will slash the salaries of their public representatives by up to 60%.

As Amsa, we are calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to effect similar legislation in South Africa. SAGREN NAIDOO | General secretary (AMSA), Durban