By Akol Madut Ngong
The Reconstituted Transitional National Legislature on Wednesday, suspended debate on the Report of the Ad-Hoc Committee of Parliamentary Service Commission on the Reviewed Staff Wages and Salaries and the Parliamentary Service (Staff) Regulations 2022.
Henry Omai Akolawin, the Chairperson of the Ad-Hoc Committee of the Parliamentary Service Commission presented the report to the August House for deliberation during the National Legislature’s ordinary sitting No.7/2022.
However, the report was returned to the Ad-hoc committee of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) to make some readjustments on the Reviewed Staff Wages, Salaries and Parliamentary Service (Staff) Regulations, 2022, that the house deemed significant.
The R-TNL’s ordinary sitting No: 7/2022 chaired by the acting Rt. Hon. Speaker who is also the Deputy Speaker of the Council of States Mary Ayen Majok adjourned the sitting to Monday the 1st of August, 2022, in accordance with the House’s regulations.
Lawmakers of the house resolved that the report should be recommitted back to the Ad-hoc committee to consider all the observations and the amendments that were raised by the members of the two houses.
Based on the members’ opinions, the acting Speaker then ruled to adjourn the sitting until Monday next week while recommending that the Ad-hoc committee of the Parliamentary Service Commission review and incorporate all observations and the amendments raised during the deliberation, and be presented back to the house on Monday, 1st of August, 2022.
Addressing the media after the sitting, the chairperson of Parliamentary Information Committee and spokesperson of the National Legislative Assembly, John Agany told reporters that the report would be reflected in the next coming budget.
He said the Parliamentary Commission will have to review the salary structures of the civil servants who are part of the national legislature.
“It will be passed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the national legislature and also the commission, the sitting deliberated on it and the regulation has been passed to the committee again to review the salary structures of the civil servants who are part of the national legislature and this law must be reflected in our laws,” Agany said.
The national assembly spokesperson stated that it must be reflected in the laws, the payment of the civil servants in the whole country in the national assembly or national legislature.
“We have waited for long, we have stepped in to make sure that our staff in the national legislature are paid accordingly to solve the situation as a whole,” he added.
He hinted that when the Reviewed Staff Wages and Salaries and the Parliamentary Service (Staff) Regulations 2022 is operationalized then they will deal with the civil servants’ laws which need to be inclusive.
He cited that the payment for the army will be reflected also in the next coming Act to be amended, that’s the Emolument Act saying they are moving in the right track.
“All the public service employees are actually appointed according to the grade starting from grade one especially, 2,3, until the minimum position of the cleaner in the institution, we are not different from the public service laws, we are just following the same public service laws, the same laws and they have the same grading,” Agany noted.
Agany said they are trying to harmonize the salaries of the parliamentary civil servants with the public service saying they need to equalize though the national legislature is an institution which stand independent by its own.
He stressed that the parliament has to be independent financially and that why is they need to be isolated from the public service laws which is calling for the civil servants salaries to be upgraded as well.
“We call on the Ministry of Finance to look onto this because of the need, the nation is suffering and the laws are to be reconciled, there is no any appointment which is out from the public service, we are already checking all the laws,” he emphasized.