Tag: salary

MP allowance debacle “not a mix-up”: State Finance Minister

The Finance Ministry today rejected implications that yesterday’s release and recall of the controversial Rf20,000-a-month committee allowances against a court injunction was a mistake which had caused confusion in the government.

“I don’t think it’s a mix-up,” said State Minister of Finance Ahmed Assad today. Assad was unclear about the court injunction.

“Releasing that sort of money is not a big procedure, I think this is just people trying to follow the general rules and experiencing an administrative error,” he said.

Assad didn’t believe anyone deserved blame, and said that “if anything, it is the ministry at large that was at fault.”

Local daily Haveeru yesterday reported that the allowances had been issued “by mistake.”

Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz had not responded to Minivan inquiries at time of press.

The court injunction, which was issued on September 26, ordered the Finance Ministry not to release funds for the committee allowance until the court rules on a case filed on behalf of a civil servant, contending that the allowance could not be given before deducted amounts from civil servants salaries were paid back.

The injunction has since been appealed by the Attorney General’s Office at the High Court, which is due to hold a first hearing on Sunday.

Parliamentary privileges

Meanwhile parliament yesterday debated a motion without notice proposed by Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed claiming that a civic action campaign launched by concerned citizens in late August violated MPs’ special privileges.

MDP MP Ahmed Easa told Minivan News yesterday that colleagues had said the allowance was being released to the parliament secretariat, but he was told that it had been held back by the Minister of Finance.

“I don’t think there was any wording, anything in what the court said indicating that they couldn’t release the money,” said Easa. “But no money has been going in to my account today, I can tell you that.”

Easa elaborated on the allowance, saying that the amount of staffing support and allowances other government branches received justified MPs accepting the proposed allowance.

“The MP point of view is that some of the independent wages and allowances are greater than MPs. The MPs are expected to do research and other duties, but we don’t have an office, a supporting staff, a phone allowance, a travel stipend to visit constituents or other things to support our work. Seven percent of our salary is taken out for a pension fund, and Male’ is an expensive place to live,” said Easa.

Easa said he will accept the allowance, but pointed out that he had always objected to it in parliament on the grounds that all payrolls should be streamlined.

“But if these other government groups are taking an allowance, why not the MPs? This is a democracy, so I always respect the majority decision.”

Lawyer Mohamed Shafaz Wajeeh, one of two lawyers involved in the civil case, argued that the number of people benefiting from the allowance does not justify the sum released, which amounts to Rf18 million (US$1.1 million).

“It’s greed. Just greed,” Shafaz said. “MPs and higher-ups in the government are probably more aware of their own power than they should be. The thinking behind this goes against everything we know.”

Shafaz suggested the government consider other options, such as releasing the allowance in installments to lighten the burden on the state budget and other subsidiaries.

“But I’m not sure how much political will there is to do this. Everyone says the allowance is a good idea.”

Civil society

Although members of the civil sector earlier issued a statement objecting to the allowance, which they called “a gross injustice to the Maldivian people,” they have not articulated an official position on the issue of late.

Maldives Democracy Network (MDN) Director Fathimath Ibrahim Didi said that individuals in the organization were involved at the beginning, but that they did not represent MDN.

“Now, I think there may be a group working against the allowance, but it is loosely formed involving people from NGOs, lawyers and individuals,” she said.

Transparency Director Ilham Mohamed told Minivan News that a volunteer team was addressing the matter, but that large protests had not been organized among local non-government organizations (NGOs).

“I believe there may be sporadic gatherings in different places,” said Mohamed. “I do know that the NGOs that were involved in the original statement opposing the MP allowance are unified on this issue.”

“Symbolic”

The decision to approve the Rf20,000 (US$1200) monthly allowances in December 2010 was met with  protests and widespread public indignation. However in June this year, parliament rejected a resolution proposed by opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Mahlouf to scrap the allowance.

Meanwhile the current civic action campaign was prompted by parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) deciding in late August to to issue a lump sum of Rf140,000 (US$9,000) as committee allowance back pay for January through July this year.

Article 102 of the constitution states that parliament shall determine the salaries and allowances of the President, Vice President, cabinet ministers, members of parliament, members of the Judiciary, and members of the independent institutions.

The Rf20,000 allowance was initially approved on December 28, 2010 as part of a revised pay scheme recommended by the PAC.

During yesterday’s debate on a privileges motion regarding the anti-committee allowance campaign, MP ‘Colonel’ Mohamed Nasheed, a member of the PAC, explained that the committee felt that MPs should earn a higher salary than High Court judges.

“But even then the honourable members of the Public Accounts Committee believed that MPs were receiving a sufficiently large salary in relation to the country’s economic situation,” he said, adding that a decision was made to institute a “symbolic” committee allowance.

“The thinking at the time was to give it to MPs who attend committee meetings as a very symbolic thing, for example one laari or 15 laari. But to ensure that take-home pay for MPs would be Rf82,500,” he said.

However, he continued, this “noble effort” became politicised and the subject of “an anti-campaign programme.”

Colonel called for legal action against the activists “when they go beyond the boundaries of free expression” and the right to protest, claiming that MPs’ families and children had been targeted.

Echoing a claim made by a number of MPs yesterday, Colonel said none of his constituents had asked him to decline the allowance.

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Concerned citizens protest 1800 percent increase in MP salaries since 2004

A group of concerned citizens, many of them also members of local non-government and civil society organisations, protested outside parliament today against the recently proposed increase in parliamentary committee members’ allowances, and lump sum back payments of Rf 140,000 (US$9100).

Leaflets scattered across parliament grounds highlighted that MPs were earning Rf 82,500 (US$5350) a month in 2011 compared to Rf 4500 (US$290) in 2004, an effective 18-fold increase.

“Parliament members already have a salary of Rf62,000, and to give them more money in this way is not necessary,” said NGO Transparency Maldives Project Coordinator, Aiman Rasheed. “We feel that giving this allowance for a whole year, and during months when Parliament isn’t even in session, is unacceptable.”

Police had blocked roads close to parliament this morning, and were waiting when protesters appeared at 1:15 pm. Approximately 25 citizens attended the protest, and were quickly penned into a side street away from the building.

Protesters waved poster boards and passed a megaphone for rally calls. However MPs avoided the protest by leaving the building through the back door.

Rasheed said Transparency had been told that if 39 of the 77 MPs refused  the allowance, the Public Accounts Committee, which proposed the raise, would submit a motion to reconsider the proposal.

“Most of the people we’ve spoken to have said they would not accept the motion,” said Rasheed.

Local NGOs and CSOs protested the raise near the tsunami memorial last Saturday, August 27. Assembling at 4:30 pm, representatives distributed fliers showing the steep rise in MP allowance rates.

“MPs do not need to be paid more money to do committee work!” read the flyer. “It is the duty of MPs. It is one of the most important responsibilities that has to be carried out by MPs.”

Saturday’s protest made use of Male’s nightly motorcycle circuit of the city to reach a large percentage of the population.

Today’s significantly smaller turnout may be a side effect of the end of Ramadan and the start of Eid, which begins tomorrow August 30. Reports say that many boats have already left Male for other islands.

The deadline for voting on the proposed allowance is 6 September. As of today, 17 MPs have said they would not accept it.

They include: Mohamed Gasam, Ibrahim Rasheed, Hamid Abdul Gafoor, Mariya Ahmed Didi, Mohamed Nazim, Illyas Labeeb, Mohamed Aslam, Ahmed Sameer, ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, Hussein Waheed, Alhan Fahmy, ‘Colonel’ Mohamed Nasheed and Eva Abdulla of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) along with Speaker Abdulla Shahid and Independent MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed.

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Mahloof cautious, but happy, over civil service salary reinstatement

Newly reinstated civil service salary rates that revoke wage cuts introduced back in 2009 should be affordable under the latest state budget, even amidst pressure to reduce the nation’s spending, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Mahloof has claimed.

Mahloof, who has been outspoken over some of the amendments passed into the 2011 state budget, said that he was “very happy” that the government had moved to revoke a 15 per cent reduction in civil servant salaries that were approved as part of the final budget within parliament.

The MP said he believed that the additional levels of expenditure could be well managed within the budget, especially if the government cut down on the number of political appointees it employed.

“We have been managing these wage levels for a long time, I don’t see there should be any difficulty in maintaining them,” Mahloof said. “However, the government could cut the number of appointees to reduce the budget further.”

Following the decision to reinstate the wages of civil servants and political appointees to similar level before respective cuts of 15 per cent and 20 per cent were made back in 2009, the government estimates that expected revenue for the year will ensure the salaries are sustainable.

The government has come under considerable pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the country’s budgetary deficit, which it has aimed to cut to about 16 per cent in its finance plans for 2011 from a figure of 26.5 per cent announced by President Mohamed Nasheed in November.

However, Mahloof told Minivan News that he was “deeply concerned” about how long the government would consider retaining the wages for after upcoming council elections had been concluded in February.

“I am really happy about the salaries reinstatement, but I see this as a political stunt,” he said. “The president has increased the salaries of the civil service before; the last time ahead of parliamentary elections. We will have to see if they remain in place and for how long.”

The passing of the budget has not been without controversy over the last week, leading to protests involving NGOs, political activists and civil service workers on Male’s streets over proposed amendments to increase the wages and privileges afforded to MPs.

According to Mahloof, the civil servant wage rises had been the result of recommendations forwarded by opposition members.

The DRP MP claimed he would now be turning his attention to addressing concerns over the affordability of possible rises in the salary of his peers in the Majlis that have proved unpopular amongst demonstrators outside of parliament last week.

“Amendments have also be sent concerning the proposed Rf20,000 wage increases,” added Mahloof.

Despite Mahloof’s concerns over the length of government commitment to the salary levels, acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee said the reinstatement of civil service wages had been an important commitment for government that had not previously been affordable.

“We have had to match our expenditure to revenue,” the acting Finance Minister said. “We are working with the civil service closely on our plans.”

However, in considering other budget recommendations passed by parliamentary majority, such as increasing the salaries and privileges afforded to MPs, Razee said that they would “certainly have to be reviewed” in terms of affordability within the current projected budget of about Rf12.6bn.

“I will be saying the same to the president,” he added.

Razee had previously said that presidential approval would still be required for any amendments to be passed relating to salaries within the Majlis.

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Maldivian Democracy Network hits out at parliament’s privilege amendments

The Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) has hit out at proposed amendments to the privileges afforded to MPs, the judiciary and independent organisations, calling them irresponsible at a time of supposed national cost cutting, as well as potentially setting back social security development in the country.

In a joint statement issued with the Democracy House group, the MDN said that parliament, under Article 102 of the Constitution, needed to act responsibly in setting out state salary structures and its own allowances;  a requirment the NGO claimed had not been the case in passing certain amendments in the 2011 annual budget.

“We note that the bill on parliamentary privileges has been passed in a manner that will further increase state expenses,” stated the MDN. “The bill also grants members of the People’s Majlis certain privileges in criminal matters. We note that these privileges are of a nature that are not granted to parliamentarians in other open democratic societies, and are not even granted to the President under the Maldivian legal system.”

The NGO also dismissed claims that individual MPs required additional benefits and financial remuneration to provide “welfare services” to constituents, claiming such patronage compromises democratic principles.

Speaking to Minivan News last week, both acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee and parliamentary Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim said that the proposed hikes in parliamentary wages were still required to obtain approval from parliamentary committees and the president before being passed.

Nazim claimed that although MPs “have not taken pay increases”, parliament had considered amendments to the wage structure as part of attempts to test methods for improved “productivity” among the Majlis.

Regional salaries

However, in figures compiled from sources including the Asian Development Bank, the CIA Fact File, the Economist magazine and official government statistics, the Maldives was found to offer a significantly higher salary for its MPs than some of its South Asian neighbours such as India and Sri Lanka combined, at least on 2009 levels of income.

Combining both base earnings and allotted allowances, the monthly salary of a Maldivian MP was said to be equivalent to US$ 7,083; well above Sri Lanka and Indian levels, which during 2009 were found to be around US$877 and US$5,966 respectively. Based on 2009 levels, both Sri Lanka and India had much higher national rates of goods and services produced – recorded as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$96.47 billion and US$3.6 trillion respectively. By comparison, the GDP of the Maldives over the same period was US$1.683bn.

In terms of MPs monthly salaries, the Maldives remained behind nations such as Singapore (US9,264), the UK (US$8,552) and Australia (US$9,687), however, the GDP of each of these nations was found to be significantly higher.

While the MDN said that it accepted some difference in the salaries and benefits afforded to state officials, was “necessary and inevitable”, the NGO claimed that economic burdens needed to be shared equally.

“It is unacceptable that this gap be widened by increasing the salaries and benefits given to high ranking state officials at a time when the average citizen faces financial difficulties,” the MDN stated.

The NGO also expressed concerns regarding the administration of social security within the country, which it said needed to be provided through fair, equitable and ultimately transparent systems rather than the private incomes of individual MPs.

Welfare systems

Speaking to Minivan News, MDN Executive Director Ahmed Irfan claimed there was strong concern that members of the Majlis were undermining democratic principles by creating dependency among constituents for financial assistance from local MPs.

“Unfortunately, it does seem that the practice of MPs providing financial and other such support to constituents is a common and accepted practice in the Maldives,” said Irfan. “Rectifying this will require both a more robust welfare system and a change in culture and attitudes among all stakeholders.”

While praising the work of the Majlis in passing a number of “important bills” during recent sessions, Irfan said the MDN did not support proposals to extend benefits and privileges for state employees within the 2011 annual budget.

“The MDN hopes that the increase in expenditure on senior state officials will not be implemented,” he said.

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Controversial salary amendments not yet approved, say MPs

MPs “have not taken pay increases”, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim has said, despite the Rf20,000 wage hikes for MPs included in the 2011 state budget approved yesterday.

Deputy Speaker Nazim said the proposed wage hikes must receive additional approval by the Majlis before they can take effect.

Despite “cross party support” for budgetary amendments allowing additional MP privileges like salary increases, he said, no wage hikes have actually been approved. Nazim anticipates that the proposals, considered a possible means of improving parliament’s “productivity”, would come under review in March after the recess.

The claims were made at the first session of the Mjalis since it passed the 2011 state budget. It opened to chants of “We need cash” from protesters gathered near the parliament building, angry over the salary amendments passed as part of a budget said to be aimed at cost-cutting.

However, acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee said he believed the budget had been passed relatively well. He added that any amendments such as those suggested for MPs’ salaries – passed yesterday by a majority of members – would still ultimately require presidential approval.

In addition, the acting Finance Minister said, all amendments would ideally fulfil the commitment to keep the budget at about Rf12.37bn for the year ahead.

These commitments are also focused on trying to ensure a budget deficit of around 16 per cent, which has been sought in an attempt to appease institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which suspended finance to the country earlier this year over concerns about it living beyond its means.

However, Nazim, who also serves as Deputy Leader of the opposition People’s Alliance (PA) party, rebuked the optimism shown by the acting finance Minister. He added that concerns remained among some “opposition and independent MPs” over a lack of detail in the budget, such as in the funding of enterprises like the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC).

Addressing the topic of MPs salaries outlined under amendments to parliamentary privileges, Nazim claimed  the salaries were not solely a “money issue”, but were also part of an attempt to test methods for improved “productivity” among the Majlis.

“The amendments were not to do with spending cuts, the salary structures have been amended as part of measures to increase productivity among members, which will be reviewed by parliament’s Public Accounts Committee,” he said. “The figure of Rf20,000 is an upper ceiling level that parliament will look to see whether it can be increased, it doesn’t mean anything has been passed.”

“We are not taking a pay rise,” Nazim added.

In looking at the wider budget, Nazim stressed that there remained concerns among some MPs over a number of proposed amendments to the budget, such as those concerning MNBC, that had been dismissed by Parliamentary speaker Abdullah Shahid as “not in the budget”.

Citing the 2010 budget that he claimed had not outlined funding for the MNBC, Nazim said  the government still provided a total of Rf54m for monthly salaries to the broadcaster, which had not been accounted for once again in the latest state finances.

The Deputy Speaker also noted that the state-owned Maldives National Shipping Limited, which  had required Rf84 million from the government’s contingency budget in 2009 had also required another Rf48 million so far this year.

In light of the recent privatisation agreement with Indian infrastructure group GMR to manage Male’ International Airport, Nazim asked why the government had “not sold off” the shipping enterprise to aid finances.

“The government refused to give this contingency budget out before it was brought to the Majlis,” he said. “They have not cooperated with parliament. Though there have been improvements since the acting [Finance] Minister came in, we still believe there has been systematic abuse of the system.”

From a government perspective, Acting Finance Minister Razee claimed that he believed budget discussions had “actually gone quite well”.

He said the approved budget was within the Rf12.37bn first projected earlier this month, but amendments would require it to “take some funds from existing programmes” so they could be invested elsewhere.

Razee said he remained hopeful that the funding would not significantly impact the proposed target for an annual budget deficit of 16 per cent.

However, he conceded that possible amendments to programmes within the budget could yet “be more significant” in terms of their financial impact than anticipated.

When asked if passing proposed amendments to parliamentary privileges such as increased wages for MPs was a failure for a budget aimed at cost reduction, Razee said that the proposals were not part of the government’s original plan.

“These [privileges] were amendments to existing bills,” he said. “Obviously, these amendments that have been provided would have to be approved by the president, who would decide if there was enough revenue to support such an increase.”

Razee added that he did not have the figures on the exact numbers of MPs and party members who had voted to approve the amendments that included the privileges, though he confirmed they “had been passed by the majority”.

“I can’t say why people voted for it, the amendments had included allowances to independent institutions so perhaps they were confused,” he claimed.

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CSC demands restored salaries be included in next year’s budget

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has called on the government to include the restored salaries for the civil servants in next year’s budget.

In September last year the Finance Ministry and the Civil Service Commission agreed to reduce the salaries of civil servants for three months because of the country’s poor financial circumstances. The matter became controversial towards the end of September when the Finance Ministry refused to restore all of the salaries to former levels.

The CSC has since taken the Finance Ministry to court, winning the first round in the civil court and forcing the government to appeal in the High Court.

At the same time, in its Country Report for the Maldives, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowedged the “intense political pressure” but maintained that the restoration of public sector wages “would have a large fiscal impact”, and prevent economic recovery “in the near term”.

President of the CSC, Hassan Fahmy, said today that the commission had met with President Mohamed Nasheed to discuss the issue, and that he had told the commission that the salaries “could be restored soon.”

“Nine months have passed, and we have been trying to resolve the issue through the legal system,’’ Fahmy said. “When the Civil Court ruled that the Finance Ministry does not have the authority to give out orders to decrease the salaries of civil servants, instead of implementing the verdict, the government has appealed in the High Court.”

The High Court has yet to rule on the issue.

Fahmy said the commission wanted “the original salaries of civil servants to be included in the budget next year.”

“It cannot be said that salaries were ‘increased’,” Fahmy said. “It will be the ‘original’ salary of civil servants.”

He said the commission had also sent a letter to the president yesterday as well.

“If it is included in the budget, then it will be for the MPs to approve it [and not the government],’’ Fahmy said. “We hope the government will understand and take leadership to restore the salaries of civil servants.”

The President has meanwhile established a committee to hold discussions between the governtment and the CSC, according to a statement issued by the President’s office.

The Committee will be chaired by the President and will include Minister of Finance and Treasury Ali Hashim, Minister of Economic Development Mahmood Razee, Attorney General Ahmed Ali Sawad, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Ibrahim Didi, President of CSC Mohamed Fahmy Hassan, Vice President of CSC Ahmed Hassan Didi, CSC member Dr Mohamed Ali, CSC member Khadheeja Adam, Secretary General of CSC Abdulla Khaleel.

The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and State Minister for Finance Ahmed Assad were not responding to calls at time of press.

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