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FAILING TO MANAGE

15/12/2017 00:12:00 By Martin Dlamini

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TODAY we are faced with a strike action by the Swaziland Revenue Authority, whose workers are demanding an additional 6.5 per cent cost of living adjustment over and above an awarded 6.8 per cent that has come after their salaries were benchmarked against the market and found to be reasonable.

The question that arises is why would they insist on this at a time when we are made to believe that government is dead broke? Well these are the people who collect our taxes and from what we are told, they are doing a very good job at it, otherwise the cash flow crisis could be worse.

Do they know something we don’t? One is inclined to believe that this is not a protest about more pay but rather one against where and how this money is being spent.

The strike also has a lot to do with the frustration that no matter how good they are at their jobs, their reward is beyond the control of their boss, Commissioner General Dumisani Masilela and his management team, all thanks to a circular that puts a ceiling on what can be approved as increases on wages or salaries. In short, Cabinet usurped their collective bargaining powers.

This was done by Cabinet to curtail the salaries of parastatals, particularly those of chief executive officers, which it found to be ‘too high’ when compared to those of Cabinet ministers.

The manner this was done suggests that the move was not aimed at curbing government expenditure but rather to enhance the status of ministers as supervisors of the CEOs. This is particularly so when considering how ministers then approved a major salary hike of their own.

The CEOs salaries were benchmarked against those of their peers in the region in more or less the same way that Cabinet ministers are now among the highest paid in the region following a review of their terms and conditions of service by Price WaterhouseCoopers that culminated in Circular No. 2 of 2013. The recommendations of this review were based on what prevailed regionally.

Employees of the parastatals have now found themselves caught in the middle of this battle for supremacy and bearing the brunt of Circular No. 1 of 2017 that places the decision on any increase on wages and salaries that exceeds 6.8 per cent in the hands of the responsible minister after receiving approval from the Standing Committee on Public Enterprises (SCOPE).
The big blunder by Cabinet was first to look at self interests before that of the country. Secondly, the circular disregards the recognition of skills, qualification and experience which parastatals need to make them more efficient. Following the circular, some parastatals have reported an exodus of skilled personnel.
Cabinet’s subsequent mistake was jumping to curtail salaries before dealing with the number of parastatals we have in this country which total around 55. Do we need all these parastatals, a majority of which are heavily subsidised by government? Of course not.
So why paint all the entities with the same brush or put them in the same basket by imposing conditions that stifle the growth and efficiency of others, particularly those that are easily self sustainable.
Government has also failed to ensure efficiency in the delivery of services with many of the parastatals which has considerably increased the burden on the consumer where service fees keep shooting up to sustain these entities.
Take for instance the fight that has ensued between the National Maize Corporation and the National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBoard).
If these entities were both to undertake public surveys today, the result would be unanimous that they are a disservice to the public. They feature as middlemen who increase the cost of doing business in agriculture because they rely on import levies to function.
This effectively makes any cheap maize or crop import very expensive in Swaziland. All a farmer needs is a market, not an agency. Crops should move from the field to the store shelf not a warehouse at NamBoard or NMC. With today’s technology, links between farmer and the markets are created at the touch of a button.
So as we go into the festive season to endure frustrations, delays and poor service delivery, a squabble over the use of our limited resources prevails with no hope of an immediate solution in sight.
The solution lies with all parties concerned being brutally honest about whether this country can afford these high salaries enjoyed by Cabinet and demanded by SRA staff, not just in words but by actions too.