Wage demands alienating the masses
- Category: Comment
- Published Date
- Written by Nation Online
Weeks after civil servants were granted an average of 61 percent salary increment, the country has seen the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary speaking the same language; better perks.
Judicial officers’ new demands, which include an increase in fuel allowances by an average of 120 percent and an adjustment in settlement allowances by 1 500 percent, follow the demands which legislators made earlier. The MPs want fuel allowances of 500 litres a month each to be paid in arrears dating back to 2009, a staggering payout that could total over K4 billion.
Granted, the judges are entitled to better conditions of service and their demands are within the law and could be justified in view of the effects of the devaluation of the kwacha.
However, the timing of the wish list they presented to government raises questions about its moral justification. In short, the taxpayer can’t just afford to fund such expenses now.
The country’s economy is in a shambles and we expect the Judiciary, Executive and Legislature to suffer with the majority of taxpayers by implementing austerity measures across the board.
It is for this reason that we say this is not the time to push for demands that would sound outrageous to the masses that are being told to sing a song of austerity on a daily basis.
