Chiefs’ honoraria review stirs debate

There are mixed reactions to proposals to adjust upwards the honoraria traditional leaders receive from the public purse with some welcoming the decision and others feeling it will further burden taxpayers.

The interviewees were reacting to President Lazarus Chakwera’s revelation in Parliament on Tuesday that government will, in the next financial year which starts in April, revise upwards chiefs’ honoraria.

In an interview on Wednesday, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira faulted government’s decision to raise the honoraria, saying it is illtimed.

He said: “Much as we greatly appreciate a variety of administrative and legislative tasks that our chiefs perform, the decision to adjust their honorarium upwards is ill timed and does not make economic sense.”

Kambwandira said government should demonstrate some level of seriousness in the implementation of austerity measures.

But economist Betchani Tchereni supported the proposal, saying what the chiefs are getting is too little for someone to survive.

He said: “It is not about time, but about lives of people. Imagine, a GVH [group village head] getting K5000! That is money you can blow within a day.

“Chiefs are working as part and parcel of government. We are not saying they should receive what the principal secretaries get. They are human beings, they need to survive.”

Tcher e n i , w h o i s associate professor of economics at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, advised government to cut other costs such as travels and look into the welfare of chiefs.

In a separate interview, governance expert Moses Mkandawire also said with the kwacha losing value, government needs to address the issue of chiefs’ honoraria.

“With the depreciation of the kwacha, they just need to realign in terms of value,” he said.

Mkandawire also called on government to adjust upwards civil servants salaries, saying they too have been affected by the depreciation of the kwacha.

On the proposed percentage increase, Minister of Local Government Richard Chimwendo Banda on Wednesday said there is need to wait for Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sosten Gwengwe’s national budget to be presented today in Parliament.

However, he said the adjustments will depend on availability of resources.

Currently , the government spends K3.2 billion annually on chiefs’ honoraria and K266 million monthly. There are 42 540 chiefs on the payroll, including paramount chiefs, senior chiefs, traditional authorities (T/As), sub-T/As, group village heads and village heads.

There are also 9 000 chiefs who government approved to be included on the payroll and a further 20 000 who are working, but have not been approved (non-gazetted).

Besides honoraria, government also looks into housing for senior chiefs. Currently about 78 houses for chiefs are being constructed.

It is estimated that having all 71 450 chiefs on the payroll will cost the government about K7billion. Increasing the honorar ium wi l l mean tax payers digging deeper into their pockets to meet chiefs’ honoraria budget.