NEW POLITICIANS NOT YET ON GOVT PAYROLL

The new Cabinet team.

MBABANE – New Members of Parliament (MPs) might not receive their November salaries.
This is because their salaries have not been processed or run by the Treasury Department.

However, the government system reflects that old or returning legislators  such as Siphofaneni MP Gundwane Gamedze will be paid their salaries which stands at the same amount of E31 129.50 as the previous term. Normaly MPs are paid on the 20th of each month, a date which was confirmed by Clerk to Parliament Ndvuna Dlamini during the MPs orientation workshop which was held at Sibane Hotel mid last month.

Dlamini had at that time introduced the Parliament human resources officers and informed the MPs that after their swearing-in ceremony they should go to the HR offices and submit their details such as bank accounts where their salaries would be deposited.

This was after Mkhiweni MP and now the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Gideon Dlamini, had asked when they would be paid. “We have already done the salary runs for the month of November and none of the new MPs are reflecting for now,” said an officer at the government computer services. The officer said once the salaries were run there was no way that the system could be reversed.

“The next run is carried out after the 25th of each month and that is to process the payments of those who are on temporary employment on most instances,” said the officer. The officer said presently the new legislators had the option of being paid by cheques because other salaries for the civil servants had already been run. Several of the new legislators said they did not know if they would receive their November salaries.

One of the new MPs also confirmed that he went to enquire with the accounts department, but was informed that their names were currently not reflecting. “Nothing has been communicated to us, and we were expecting that we would get paid on the 20th, but it would seem that is not the case,” said the MP. The MPs were sworn in on October 17, 2013.
When reached for comment yesterday, Clerk to Parliament Ndvuna Dlamini said he was also in the dark about the legislators’ salaries. “I have not received any communication from the ministry of Finance regarding the instrument to be used to pay MPs salaries. I am still consulting on this particular issue,” he said.
Government Spokesperson Percy Simelane said although he was not aware of the problem it was expected that the MPs will be paid eventually. “I can only assume that it was an operational glitch with the systems,” said Simelane.

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