By Saio Marrah
Sierra Leone’s Chief Minister, Joseph Jusu Saffa has appealed that Parliament expedites the process of enactment of the harmonization of wages and salary bill already before the lawmakers.
Saffa made this call during the first and second reading and debate of the 2022 National Security and Central Intelligence Bill on Tuesday 19th July 2022.
The Chief Minister said: “While it was really outside the context of this discussion, but let me just make an appeal…. There was a reference made on harmonisation of salaries here and there. I would just call on you that the wages and harmonisation bill before this this honorable house be dealt with as quickly as possible.”
The harmonization bill is geared toward addressing the inequality in the wage bill and making sure that those with the same position and same qualifications but in different sectors have the same pay, according to a Member of Parliament, Abdul Karim Kamara, representing constituency 059 in Kambia District.
He informed Politico that as of now, the senior officials of the three arms of government such as judges, government ministers, and parliamentarians are receiving different pay.
The main opposition MP also cited people in grade seven that are benefiting from even fuel and medical allowances while teachers that are also in the same grade seven or eight, only get a bare salary without any other allowances.
He said with the introduction of the harmonization, be it a police officer, teacher, nurse, or civil servant, they will get the same condition of service.
Kamara also alleged that the bill does not have the political will from the executive arm of government, because according to him, it was brought to parliament before the death penalty, the elections bill, the cyber security bill, and others, all of which have been passed into law.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (25/07/22)
