The South African Medical Association (Sama) has joined the chorus of criticism over the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers’ proposed 4.1% salary increase for parliamentarians, ministers, and senior government officials.
Sama has cited the austerity measures and funding pressures faced by public healthcare workers and other essential services and proposed that any adjustment to the remuneration of parliamentarians, ministers, and senior government officials be limited to an inflation-linked increase of 3.1%.
If approved, Cabinet ministers stand to benefit from an increase of about R110,000, pushing their annual pay to roughly R2.8 million, among others. The recommendation was published in a government gazette recently.
“The Board is of the view that this recommendation appears misaligned with the current socio-economic realities facing the country. Public healthcare institutions continue to experience severe budgetary constraints, staffing shortages, delayed procurement of essential medicines and equipment, and increasing pressure on healthcare professionals who are expected to deliver quality care under increasingly difficult conditions,” said Sama chief executive, Dr Mzulungile Theo Nodikida.
Healthcare workers, Sama said, were currently expected to do more with less, while communities faced reduced access to essential services.
“The Board believes that leadership during periods of national hardship should demonstrate solidarity, restraint, and a commitment to equitable sacrifice. Furthermore, the Board urges government to prioritise available resources toward strengthening frontline services, particularly healthcare, which remains fundamental to the wellbeing, productivity, and dignity of the population. Any remuneration adjustments should be carefully balanced against service delivery imperatives, fiscal sustainability, and the ethical responsibility of leadership to place the public interest above individual benefit,” Nodikida added.
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) which also rejected the proposed increase, said it was shameful that this was in the same year that Cabinet said the state did not have money to fulfill its legal obligations and thus a 2% VAT hike was unavoidable.
“It defies logic that a month after the Minister for Finance, Mr. Enoch Godongwana, warned Parliament and the nation that further tax hikes may be a necessity in 2026, that the Commission thought proposing an additional R536 million to fund the salaries of politicians, commissioners and judges is morally justifiable. Most galling is the inclusion of the 9 331 local government Councillors under whose watch the state of municipal finances and services has deteriorated at an alarming rate, with numerous municipalities failing to pay their employees’ salaries, pensions, medical aids and taxes.”
Cosatu said if government had spare funds, these must be used to hire the “doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers and other frontline workers needed” to provide essential services to working class communities.
Cape Times