Members of Parliament will soon become some of the highest-paid workers in Zambia if their demands for a 20% pay rise go through.
As Parliament reopens tomorrow, the MPs who currently receive an average of K50, 000 want their monthly salaries to go up by 20%.
They also want their sitting allowances to increase to K3, 000 per sitting from the current K1, 500.
The People’s Representatives are also demanding that their Car Loans allocation be increased to US$120,000.
They are also pushing for increases in other benefits such as fuel allowances.
Some MPs interviewed defended their demands on account that the cost of living has gone up.
And sources at the National Assembly have confirmed that the MPs have called for a Caucus at which they hope to agree on the next course of action if their demands are not met.
The Caucus will take place at Parliament Building on Tuesday morning before Parliament opens later in the afternoon.
The sources revealed that during the last sitting, Petauke Member of Parliament Emmanuel J. Banda was tasked with presenting the petition to Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane which was signed by all opposition and Independent MPs demanding higher pay.
“The MPs feel that petition was largely ignored and they believe it never received any attention from the President and now during this sitting, they want to put it as Agenda Item No. 1 and they will not relent until their demands are met,” said the source.
The source said the MPs are planning to conduct a silent protest in Parliament if they do not get their demands addressed.
“They plan to be keeping silent when in the House so that there is no debate whatsoever as a way of making the Executive respond to their demands. What is interesting is that the current Ministers of Finance and Home Affairs (Jack Mwiimbu) were at the forefront of pushing for a salary increment in the last Parliament before the August 2021 elections, it would be interesting to see how they will conduct themselves on this matter this time around,” the source said.
