Maravi

LETTERS - Pay Rise, Eugenics

Rupiah and pay rise
Written by Simmy Wamundila.
Monday, November 24, 2008 10:25:33 AM

Zambians must not be too shocked at the move by members of parliament
to increase their pay. This Bill originated from the Cabinet. Mwanawasa would have listened to our cry but I just can't see President Rupiah Banda listening to our cries.

Mwanawasa understood fully well that there was real poverty in Zambia and he tried to work hard under difficult conditions.

President Banda, as well as his ministers, does not pay for water, electricity, food, talk time, accommodation and so on. Everything is paid for by the taxpayer. And they can't even tell Zambians that this is so because they work so hard, no.

As far as I’m concerned, the people demanding for pay increments have nothing at the moment they can point at and say, “we deserve the pay rise”.

At Parliament, they eat good food and have duty-free beers. Please, Mr President look at how much the nurses, police officers, council workers and many others are getting at the end of every month. These same people have to pay rentals, food, water, electricity and so on, and yet they have families to look after, to take to school within the K800,000 or even less.

I challenge the President and MPs to clearly tell the Zambian people how special they are before signing the bill. A lot of children are busy crushing stones every day not because they enjoy doing so but because the government has always been so selfish. These children don’t even have a chance to go to school because things are just rough for them.

On the other hand, ministers’ children are even driven to schools every morning in government cars. So what else do these people want. Please God help us.

President Banda is free to go ahead and sign the Bills but God will ask how the MPs and ministers treated their fellow human beings the time they where give a chance by God to serve their fellow human beings with proper care. It is just the love of money, this same money caused the death of Jesus so I will not be surprised to see Rupiah today signing for the Bill because at least we already know that the man is so dishonest. But his time to suffer also is not too far is he is not careful.


Ministers’ pay rise
Written by Concerned citizen
Monday, November 24, 2008 10:25:07 AM

What is the motive behind the Cabinet salary increments.
It just shows how selfish the leaders we have chosen to represent us are. Our President promised to fight poverty but I don't believe these proposed increments are the right step towards fighting poverty.

Why should the salary and allowances of one person be more than the constituency development fund? Whose interests are these people serving? We entrust them with the responsibility of distributing wealth but they want to get the bigger share and leave the poor with nothing, depriving them of even basic necessities such as food. Is this not stealing in broad daylight?

I pray that the President truly has a heart, a heart for the poor whom he promised cheap mealie-meal and fertiliser. Even as you take away our money, let the poor have food. Don't take away our money and increase the price of our staple food so that we starve to death.


Salary increments
Written by Eustace Chamulonde
Monday, November 24, 2008 10:24:35 AM

The call and warning by the government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha
to PF president Micheal Sata not to politicise the salary and allowance increments for constitutional office holders and senior government officials in theSaturday Post of November 22, was not necessary and is a sheer waste of valuable time to talk about issues like the rising prices of mealie-meal and the global financial crunch which this country is not immune to.

One thing that should be clear to the minister and all who support the increment is that there are retirees who have not gotten their terminal benefits, hospitals without simple drugs like panadol, constituencies with inaccessible roads like his, and far-flung settlements without schools. The list is endless.

I will not be surprised that someone will claim that the money to fund increments is not enough for some or all the issues I have pointed out as they have not heard of being frugal with resources or that a every small step is worth it as it ultimately takes something out of a long journey.

The fact that uncaring PF and MMD MPs decide to increase their salaries is no excuse not to comment on the issue by Sata who has some idea of how ordinary people and families (some even in Shikapwasha's constituency) are suffering. The common feeling on the ground is that a salary increment alone was not going to leave a bad taste in people's mouths but it is the hiding of huge increments in the name of responsibility allowances.

We are all asking as to what the people going to receive the responsibility allowance are responsible for? Hunger, national resources mismanagement, unemployment, retiring from active politics and coming back again or recycling old and beyond use by date politicians.

One thing that should sink in the mind of the minister and all those in government as politicians is that most of them do not deserve to be in those position save for favours from the appointing authorities and the fact that most of the well-meaning minds are not in politics, as the activity itself (not fit to be called an occupation) is full of lies and bootlicking.

Most of the people in politics are not enterprising enough and cannot sustain themselves and one does not need to be a rocket scientist to know that. We are all too aware of a lot of politicians who having been in government for years and retire, come back running to politics when the reality of not living off government coffers and favours dawns on them.

A good example is how most of those who had retired and were endorsing or encouraging the endorsement of Rupiah Banda looked starved and finished. Zambian politics is full of people who have been there for 10 years and over, to a point where those with fewer years are easily countable on one hand. They have made a clique of frustrating and finishing those that want to emerge with fresh ideas and minds.

Can the minister tell me of anything fresh the nation should expect out of someone who has been in Zambian politics for the last 20 to 40 years?

Our economy is not bouyant enough to cushion the expenses to arise out of such huge salaries and allowances.



Bweengwa MP on family size
Written by Ruth Henson, Livingstone
Monday, November 24, 2008 10:23:41 AM

I was disappointed that the MP for Bweengwa did not mention education for girls.
This is the single biggest factor influencing family size. This has proven true all over the world and is true in Zambia. Women who never went to school or dropped out of primary school have large families. Those who completed Grade 12 have medium families (4 or 5 children) Those who went to college or university generally have 1, 2 or at most 3.

Therefore anyone who wants to lower the birth rate must educate all the women to tertiary level, as education is the single biggest factor affecting economic growth. This would also take care of that problem. Other countries have lifted themselves out of poverty by making universal quality education a priority.

South Korea calculated that every year added on to basic education added 3 per cent GDP. This means that in Zambia we could add 6 per cent by making sure all children reach Grade 9 or 15 per cent by extending that to Grade 12. Economic growth has its own impact on population growth as people who are well off also tend to have fewer children even if not so well educated. When are we going to see a government that truly puts education as priority number one, over and above ministers' salaries and allowances, new vehicles or presidential aeroplanes?

Labels: CABINET, EUGENICS, RUPIAH BANDA, SALARIES

posted by MrK @ 10:24 AM