Zuma, public office bearers’ salary hikes approved

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma’s salary will increase to over R2.7m per annum this year and he will receive a lump sum payment of over R100 000 in back payments.

City Press reports  that National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete and Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng will receive just over R2.6m with similar back payments.

All government officials are in for a salary increase now that the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers has made its recommendation on public sector salaries.

The increases for our top officials are as follows:

- President Jacob Zuma: R2 753 689 up from R2 622 561

- Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa: R2 602 297 up from R2 478 378

- Ministers: R2 211 937 up from R2 106 607

- Deputy ministers: R1 821 577 up from R1 734 835

- Speaker of the national assembly and chief justice: R2 602 297 up from R2 478 378

- Ordinary member of Parliament: R989 883 up from R933 852

- Premiers: R2 081 868 up from R1 982 731

- Mayors: R1 152 803 up from R1 097 907

- Traditional leaders (kings): R1 078 599 up from R1 027 237

The commission, which is obliged to make salary adjustment recommendations for public officials every year, said it had proposed “a 5% adjustment for Public Office Bearers earning more than R 1 000 000 and 6% for public office bearers earning less than R 1 000 000”.

The increase hovers around the inflation mark.

The commission released its report following the monetary policy committee announcement that left the repo rate unchanged, and predicted an average inflation forecast of 5.4% for 2015.

The new salaries will kick in retroactively from 1 April last year for national officials and 1 July for local government officials. This means that officials will be back paid a lump sum once the recommendations have been finalised.

Commissioner Neo Sephoti explained to City Press that the adjustments were delayed as several of the commissioners’ term of office had come to an end, including the chair. The commission had to wait for Zuma to appoint new commissioners which was finished in October, before they could make quorum again for their meetings and complete their work on the adjustments.

The commission considered a number of factors in coming to the decision, it said in a press statement released today, including the forecast of the consumer price index, market salary increases in the past year and “the economic and social environment”.

The recommendations have been gazetted and will be passed by Parliament where it applied to the executive, and by the president where it applied to the legislature, said Sephoti.

Government Gazette - Remunerations Commission Recommendations for 2014-15 by CityPress