President John
Magufuli’s vow to slash the salaries of top executives in public
institutions and corporations has sparked a passionate debate, with
some commentators saying the decision takes us back to the Ujamaa era.
The
promise drew mixed views yesterday and was the trending subject on
social media and radio stations as a cross section of the public offered
its views on what would be a first in Tanzania.
The
emotive debate was divided between those who felt that the President’s
move would hamper the previous government’s vision of attracting
Tanzania’s best brains to bring professionalism and efficiency in the
public sector and others who were of the view that huge wage disparities
were giving rise to classes in Tanzania.
It
also thrust to the fore plans for the establishment of a national wage
policy to guide the setting of salaries for both the public and private
sectors, even as some people felt the government should approach the
matter tactfully so as not to alienate the skilled labour force.
Addressing
a public rally in Chato—his home town—President Magufuli said starting
from next financial year, no executive of a public institution or
corporation would be paid more than Sh15 million per month. Reports
suggest some of the country’s top earners in the public sector are paid
up to Sh40 million per month.
Speaking to The Citizen
in a personal capacity, the executive secretary of the Association of
Tanzania Employers (ATE), Dr Aggrey Mlimuka, said although the President
has the mandate to increase or reduce the salary of a public servant,
such decision should be made after conducting a thorough research.
According
to Dr Mulimuka, a move should be made after finding out what made the
wages for executives in public institution sky rocketed in the first
place.
He advised Dr Magufuli to form a special commission which will investigate the issue just like what his predecessors did.
Dr
Mulimuka expressed pessimism on whether the government will be able to
slash wages of executives in public institutions in such a short period.
To
bridge the salary gap between the low earners and high earners, Dr
Mulimuka advised the government to introduce a national policy on
salaries and other remunerations.
“We
should have a national wages policy which will prevent the salary gap
between lower and higher earners; the policy will prevent top officials
in public institutions from increasing their salaries whenever they deem
fit,” said Dr Mulimuka.
According to him although labour laws are uniform, they vary depending on employment contracts of individuals.
The
secretary-general of the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (Tucta), Mr
Nicholas Mgaya, said Tucta supports President Magufuli’s move because it
will help to bridge the salary gaps among public servants.
He
said there are some government institutions which have branded
themselves “agencies” or “authorities” to use the status to pay
themselves unjustifiably high salaries for jobs that are similar to
those in other institutions and public corporations.
“Heads
of these agencies are accountable to the permanent secretaries in their
respective ministries but they are paid up to five times more than
their bosses. This is illogical. That is why people are ready to pay
huge sums to buy jobs in these agencies,” said Mr Mgaya.
Commenting
on the matter, a private consultant in leadership and public service
management, Mr Jesse Mashimi, said he understands that the President
wants to bridge the wage gaps among public servants.
However, he said he wasn’t sure whether the President is using the proper model.
“I
understand that the President is trying to bridge the salary gap
between low income and high income earners in public entities just the
way it was under Ujamaa,” said Mr Mashimi.
He added, “We are now in the market economy that’s why top officials in public institutions are paid very high salaries.’’
According
to Mr Mashimi, salaries for top officials in public sectors started to
rocket when the country adopted the Zanzibar Declaration which killed
the Arusha declaration, the blueprint of the ujamaa.
For
his part, a political science lecturer at the Ruaha Catholic University
(Rucu), Prof Gaudence Mpangala, echoed Dr Mulimuka’s call for the
establishment of a national remuneration policy, which, according to
him, would limit the income gap.
“We
don’t have a national vision that stands for equality…everyone is
thinking of his own regardless of how it affects others…at the end we
have a huge income gap,” he said.
According
to Prof Mpangala, President Magufuli is using guidelines from the
Arusha Declaration that looked at equal rights, reducing the gap
between the have and have not.
Previous
administrations increased the salaries for the executives of public
institutions and corporation executives in order to attract best brains,
who were working in the private sector, to the public sector.
Some fear that President Magufuli’s plans will scare away those brains from the public sector.
Addressing
the nation from Chato’s Mazaina grounds yesterday, the President said
it was a shame for a poor country like to Tanzania to have people in
public institutions pocketing up to Sh40 million while those in junior
positions received a mere Sh300, 000 per month.
Dr
Magufuli revealed that he had set up a special team that is working to
ensure there is equal distribution of the national cake, starting from
the public servants’ salaries.
He
said a special review had revealed that chief executive officers of
several government institutions along with members of boards of
directors decided to hike their salaries and allowances to unacceptable
rates.
Source: the Citizen