…..as one percent of annual salaries to cost E86 million
BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE –The one percent once-off ‘sweetener deal’ will result in government spending over E900 million on civil servants’ salaries in December.
This publication has learnt that the 1 percent annual salaries paid to public servants will add E86 million to government’s December wage bill.
Currently, government’s monthly wage bill is around E816.7 million. This figure is calculated based on the total amount government will spend on civil servants’ salaries for the 2024/2025 financial year.
According to Government financial books, the 2024/25 wage bill is around E9.8 billion.
If you divide the E9.8 billion by 12 months, government spends E816.7 million on remunerations.
However, in December, government is expected to add E86 million as the once-off ‘sweetener deal’, bringing the wage bill to E902.7 million.
Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg told this publication that the one-percent ‘sweetener deal’ between Government and its workers would cost E86 million.
“The total cost of this one percent is E86 million,” Rijkenberg said.
He said the nation would remember that the total wage bill in the 2024/25 budget was around E9.8 billion.
According to the minister, the Ministry of Public Service came forward to state that within the holistic budget of E9.8 billion, there was a saving of E86 million. This meant that when Government used the E86 million to pay the one percent, the wage budget would not go up and Government would not overspend on wages.
The minister further mentioned that the nation would remember that in July this year, Government and its workers agreed on a four-percent cost of living adjustment (CoLA). During the negotiations, Government also decided to add a once-off payment to the civil servants. Rijkenberg said by delivering the once-off payment, Government was keeping a promise it made to its workers.
Minister of Public Service Mabulala Maseko also reminded the nation that during the negotiations in July this year, the civil servants had asked for a ‘sweetener deal’ of 0.5 percent. He said this today (Thursday, November 28, 2024) when speaking on EBIS 1’s Letishisako programme. However, Government was able to give one percent to its workers. During the interview, Maseko pleaded with the civil servants to continue cooperating with Government because the administration, from its side, was committed to ensuring that the service conditions for its workers were improved. During the interview, Maseko said if things went well, they would find out if it would not be possible for this to happen annually. He emphasised that for now, this payment was a once-off.
Yesterday, representatives of Public Sector Unions (PSUs), expressed happiness and satisfaction when they signed the implementation of the one-percent once-off payment. They stated that they observed that Government had been honest because it had lived true to the promise it made during the July negotiations. The PSUs represented included Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Swaziland Nurses Association (SNA), National Public Services and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), and Swaziland National Association of Government Accountant Personnel (SNAGAP).
