NCC allowances
NCC allowancesWritten by Editor
It is shocking to hear National Constitutional Conference (NCC) spokesperson Mwangala Zaloumis say that the K500,000 delegates to the NCC get as sitting allowance per day is not enough compared to the kind of work they are doing.We say it is shocking because we know that the minimum wage in Zambia, as by law established, is K265,000 per month.
There are very few civil servants and public workers who get the kind of money these NCC delegates receive per month. Of course, they do not do the same kind of work. But it will not be correct for Zaloumis to say the K500,000 sitting allowance per day is insufficient when we all know that these delegates just sit for about three or four hours per day.
When one takes a closer look at the composition of the NCC, it will be discovered that the majority of delegates are already being sustained by taxpayers’ money. Why do we say so? Because all the ministers and members of parliament receive a salary from taxpayers’ money, besides the allowances we are talking about. The technocrats seconded to NCC are civil servants being paid by the taxpayer. It’s just a handful of people coming from the private sector, other political parties and civil society members who are not to be paid by the taxpayer in their usual work.
Even then, we know that K500,000 is not the only amount that the government is spending on each delegate per day. There is the question of lodging and transport allowances. When all this is put together, it can safely be said that over K1.5 million is being spent on each delegate per day, especially those coming from outside Lusaka.
In saying this, we are not in any way suggesting that these delegates do not deserve to be looked after by the government. What we are trying to say is that there is need for modesty in the manner we choose to spend government resources.
Yes, a national constitution is an important document and all well-meaning Zambians are in a hurry to have a good constitution that will stand the test of time, a constitution that will help in the good governance of the country. But this should not be done at the unnecessary expense of the taxpayer.
We have not forgotten how some people, or is it some sectors of our society, offered their services for free to the NCC or anybody that was to be constituted to review the Constitution. This was after the late president Levy Mwanawasa expressed some reluctance in constituting the much-proposed Constituent Assembly, saying it would be a very costly exercise. We remember that some of the people who are today complaining that the allowances they are receiving as NCC delegates are insufficient actually told Levy that money should not be an excuse because some civil society members were ready to approach donors for funding while others actually offered their services for free, in national interest.
What has changed today for these delegates to be complaining that their allowances are insufficient?
We are aware that some ministers had actually even approached Levy before he died complaining that ordinary members of parliament on the NCC were getting more allowances than ministers. Those who approached Levy on this matter will recall how Levy reacted to their complaint.
It appears that some delegates are using the NCC as a fundraising venture. Zaloumis says these delegates actually deserve more, although they have accepted what they are currently receiving, because they do a lot of thinking. This is not true.
Yes, there are some delegates who fully apply themselves for the sake of giving Zambians a good constitution. But we are also sure that there are more delegates who are really getting a sitting allowance; they get the allowance for just sitting, just warming those chairs without any meaningful contribution.
This is similar to what happens in the National Assembly. Not all members of parliament have put their names in the Hansard in a meaningful way. Some of them only say “hear, hear” to other members’ debates. This is their only contribution.
Making a constitution is very noble task and those who have this privilege should concentrate more on what they are contributing to the nation and not what they are earning out of their contribution to a noble task. Yes, everyone likes money. But liking it too much can be dangerous. We say this because where people put money above everything else, no meaningful development can be achieved.
We see this in the civil or public service. There are some senior government officials who are forever out of their offices, attending workshops and board meetings at the expense of work in their offices. They move from one workshop to another just to accrue more per diem. Why should one permanent secretary sit on several boards?
That is why some of these delegates are proposing to extend the period for NCC sittings. They are not in a hurry to finish the constitution. They want to make as much money from this process as possible before Zambia can have a new constitution. We hope these delegates pay as much attention to the constitution’s contents as they are paying to their allowances.
We need to be vigilant, as taxpayers, on how national resources are expended because there are so many competing needs. Those who have critised the expenditure of the NCC are just as patriotic, if not more patriotic, as those writing the Constitution. Zambians will not allow the NCC to be a bottomless pit. And because NCC is using public resources, members of the public deserve to raise any concerns or questions on how NCC is using or abusing public resources.
There is no need to shut down people who want to say something on this matter. If Michael Sata is peddling lies about NCC, just expose those lies. Otherwise, he has a legitimate right to question how NCC is spending taxpayers’ public money.
Labels: NCC
posted by MrK @ 3:35 AM
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