Times Of Swaziland: CIRCULAR OUT, GOVT READY TO PAY 3% COLA, BUT ...

CIRCULAR OUT, GOVT READY TO PAY 3% COLA, BUT ...
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Stanley Khumalo and Phiwase Phungwayo on 10/08/2022 15:31:00


MANZINI – A Circular, which allows qualifying civil servants to get the three
per cent cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA), has been handed over to the ministry
of Finance.
This follows that last month; the three per cent CoLA and once-off payment of
one per cent of their annual basic salary, was not implemented due to
technicalities. The technicalities included that a Circular instructing the
Ministry of Finance to effect the reviewed scale for un-unionisable civil
servants was not submitted on time. Also, the Ministry of Public Service said
unlike in previous years, wherein the adjustments were received by all civil
servants on government’s payroll, this time they had to separate them as not
all had signed a collective agreement.
In light of the technicalities experienced last month, this publication sought
comment from the Communications Officer in the Ministry of Finance, Setsabile
Dlamini, on whether they had received the instrument instructing them to modify
the remuneration scales. She confirmed that the ministry had received the
Circular from the ministry of Public Service with the new salary scales. The
circular, she said, was directed to the Treasury Department. “Yes, we have
received the circular,” she said.
Affected
According to impeccable sources at the Treasury Department, the submission of
the Circular means it is likely that when the payroll is run, the new scale will
be effected. The sources said this was a sign that there was a new remuneration
structure. Also, the Communications Officer in the Ministry of Public Service,
Hlobisile Vilakati, said: “The Ministry has issued a Circular implementing
CoLA.” This was after Vilakati had been sought for information on whether the
three per cent CoLA and once-off one per cent of annual salary across the board
for managers and non-unionisable civil servants would be effected this month.
This is also subsequent to a previous comment by the Principal Secretary (PS) in
the ministry of Public Service, Sipho Tsabedze, who informed this publication
last month that the qualifying civil servants were guaranteed to get their money
next week. He said: “The work (to upload the CoLA) needs time as it is unlike
on previous instances where it was applied to every person on the payroll;
hence, it could not be implemented last month.”
Tsabedze said the exclusion of some civil servants was the reason the
remuneration at the improved rate was stalled. He said the ministry also
received the circular authorising the implementation of the three per cent CoLA
and once-off payment of one per cent of their annual basic salary after the date
of running the payroll. It is worth noting that the deadline for running
salaries at the Treasury Department is usually five working days before the
remuneration of civil servants. For this month, it was gathered that the process
had already started.