Critics Blast ‘Immoral’ Parliament Salary Bump

The controversy surrounding the Parliamentary Special Committee on Emoluments’ report recommending pay increases for Parliamentarians isn’t going away any time soon.

Critics, like Dr Mosmi Bhim from the Fiji National University, have slammed the Coalition Government’s failure to address other priorities since coming into office.

“The People’s Alliance Coalition was not elected on a mandate to increase pay for MPs and Ministers,” she said.

“Their mandate was to remove repressive laws, amend the Electoral Act, review the 2013 Constitution, bring in financial reforms to cut down expenditure and reduce the national debt, and to address workers’ grievances.

“Much of these are yet to be achieved.

“The Government thus has not yet made any increase in the minimum wage of workers. The review of key legislation, such as the Electoral Act, is still pending.

“The pay increase is contrary to the PA government’s mandate to cut down expenditure, as it will increase expenditure by $8.1 million.”

Dr Bhim, who has researched governance issues in small island states, said good governance procedures require the Government to be transparent and accountable in its decision-making process. She said the Government needed to consult the public on the issue.

Dr Joseph Veramu, an anti-corruption advocate and academic, agreed and said the pay increase recommendation from the Emoluments Special Committee raises “serious issues of governance and impropriety”.

“Salary increases of over 137 per cent for Members of Parliament, 22 percent for the Prime Minister, and 42 per cent for the President are immoral when 45 per cent of the population live in absolute poverty.

“Any pay rise must be done by an independent body and must include decisions on pay rise for all civil servants and not just parliamentarians.”

Key Government officeholders, including Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, have defended the proposed pay rise. Dr Veramu said that Parliamentarians do need to be paid more but disagreed with the approach used to determine the latest pay bump.

“We don’t deny that MPs, the Prime Minister, and the President need pay rises.

“However, the timing of it and the outrageous amount -137 percent increase for MPs, 22 percent increase for PM and 42 percent increase for President – are being questioned in addition to the concern that the MPs had awarded themselves these pay rises.”

Emoluments Review: How it happened

The Parliament in Fiji determines the remuneration payable to the President, the Prime Minister, other Ministers, and Assistant Ministers, the Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and Members of Parliament as provided in the Parliamentary Remunerations Act 2014.

New Zealand, in contrast, has the Remuneration Authority, the independent body that sets the pay for key public officeholders, including the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament.

Similarly, in Australia, pay increases are awarded by the independent remuneration tribunal.

Section 9 of the Act says that by resolution, Parliament may appoint a committee which shall provide advice to Parliament on the determination of remuneration.

On July 12, 2023, Parliament adopted the motion for the Special Committee on Emoluments to be established to review the salaries and allowances of officeholders.

Once established, the Members of the Emoluments Committee consisted of Lynda Tabuya, Ro Filipe Tuisawau, Aseri Radrodro, Alvick Maharaj, and Mosese Bulitavu.

The Parliamentary Remunerations Act 2014 via Section 8 allows Parliament to seek independent advice for its review.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) consultant Kevin Deveaux was hired to analyze the current salaries and benefits in Parliament and report his findings and recommendations to the Special Committee.

Feedback: jernese.macanawai@fijisun.com.fj