BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – It is better than nothing.
Civil servants will get better pay in the next four weeks.
In fact, public servants will smile to the bank in December, as Government has handed them what it termed a ‘sweetener deal’ of one per cent of their annual salaries.
The one per cent will be a once-off payment of the civil servants’ annual salaries, which means they will be paid this money only in December 2024. Nothing will be paid in January 2025, December 2025, or any other month.
This transpired today (Wednesday, November 27, 2024) in Mbabane, in a meeting involving Prime Minister’s Office Principal Secretary (PS) Bertram Stewart, Ministry of Public Service PS Sipho Tsabedze, Acting Swaziland Nurses Association President Nokuthula Dlamini, Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Acting President Mxolisi Motsa, and National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) Acting President Msimeto Malindzisa. The parties met to sign the ‘sweetener deal,’ as Government had promised the money in July.
The one per cent ‘sweetener deal’ between Government and its workers is the result of the fruitful negotiations between the two parties in July this year, which resulted in the workers getting a four-percent increment of their salaries. PS Bertram Stewart mentioned that during the negotiations in July, civil servants asked for the ‘sweetener deal.’
However, at the time, Government did not have the money.
Therefore, it asked to be given time to get the money to implement the deal. Fortunately, that was successful, as Government was able to get the said money to pay the one-percent once-off payment. Stewart said they were hopeful that in December, the civil servants would be paid this money.
PS Sipho Tsabedze emphasised that this would be the once-off one per cent of the civil servants’ annual salaries, which had the four per cent that was added in July. Tsabedze also reminded the nation that Government’s year started from April to March the following year. This means the one per cent would be the percentage of an annual salary paid from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
Reacting to the development, Acting President Nokuthula Dlamini, who spoke on behalf of the Public Sector Unions (PSUs), said they asked for the ‘sweetener’ in July, but Government told them that it was going to make that per cent. Dlamini said they were happy that Government was successful and by December this year, the money would be paid into their accounts, as civil servants.
The one-percent once-off payment means that a civil servant who gets an E5 000 monthly salary will expect an additional once-off amount of E600 next month. A civil servant who earns an amount of E40 000 per month should expect a once-off additional amount of E4 800 next month.
On the side of the civil servants, the development would surely come as good news, as they would be able to catch up with the economic difficulties, such as inflation, according to renowned Economist Sanele Sibiya. Sibiya said for a long time now, civil servants had faced hardship in the market, as prices of goods and services were much higher, compared to the salaries paid to most civil servants. The economist said even though the economy seemed to improve here and there, the inflation still did not show signs of slowing down, which was harsh to workers, including civil servants.
However, Sibiya pleaded with Government to be careful of having a spending habit when there were slight signs of economic recovery. He said as economists, they took note of the fact that SACU receipts, which were the main source of Government’s revenue, could not be as positive as they were this year. So it was important to be sparing with money so that the administration could be afloat in times of difficulties.
