Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice Bulelani Magwanishe.
- Office bearers from the Public Protector and Human Rights Commission earning R1.5 million and above will not receive a raise for the 2019-20 financial year.
- Officials earning between R1 1.5 million will receive a 2.8% increase, while office bearers earning below R1 million will get 4.5%.
- New leave regulations for magistrates have also been approved.
The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services approved pay raises for office bearers in the Office of the Public Protector and Human Rights Commission for the previous financial year.
On Wednesday, the committee approved a notice from President Cyril Ramaphosa, which after consideration of the Commission for Remuneration of Public Office Bearers and the serious economic challenges facing the country, proposed a salary freeze for office bearers earning R1.5 million and above; a 2.8% adjustment for office bearers earning between R1 million and R1.5 million; and a 4.5% adjustment for office bearers earning below R1 million.
Committee chairperson Bulelani Magwanishe pointed out that the increase pertains to those office bearers earning up to R1.5 million per annum in the South African Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Public Protector, according to a statement.
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Magwanishe said the committee approved this recommendation with the amendment of the date of 1 July 2019 and not 1 April 2019, as per the notice.
“It is important that the public should be made aware that this salary adjustment is a retrospective increase for the previous financial year. This is not a current increase,” Magwanishe said.
“The whole country is facing financial challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic and we would not want South Africans to be under the impression that we are condoning salary adjustments of this nature in this difficult economic times.”
Approve
The committee heard that this is the first time that Parliament has been requested to approve the decision on an increase for the remuneration of independent constitutional institutions, as it was previously only done by the executive.
Last year, this was amended and now it is required that the president recommends to Parliament, which then makes a determination.
The committee also approved new regulations regarding the leave cycle for magistrates, which was amended at the start of this year. The regulations now state that leave can only be accumulated up to a period of three years.
Previously, magistrates could accumulate leave indefinitely and any leave that remained at the time of retirement or resignation would be paid out.
The new regulations state that, per calendar year, leave is 30 days of vacation. It starts each year on 1 January, and can be accumulated over a three-year cycle. Leave not taken during this period will be forfeited.
