Poser on MPs’ salaries/perks

Promises to cut pensions, suspend duty-free vehicle permits and allowances for Members of Parliament (MP)s was one of the scoring points for the newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. In order to deliver on his election promise, at his first Cabinet meeting, the President appointed a three-member committee to study and recommend ways to limit on a “rational basis” the entitlements, allowances, and privileges which creates an unnecessary burden on the Treasury or to introduce other suitable alternative methods.

The committee is headed by retired Supreme Court Judge K.T. Chithrasiri, and its other members are Retired Secretary to Ministry D. Dissanayaka, and Retired District Secretary Jayantha C.T. Bulumulla. 

At present an MP’s basic salary is Rs. 54,285. Added to this are allowances such as for sitting allowance, entertainment, renting of office space, fuel allowances, etc. which would add up to around Rs. 300,000 monthly.

Let’s take India for example where the basic salary of an MP is Indian rupees (INR) 100,000 but with allowances it tops over INR 300,000. Indian MPs also enjoy facilities such as domestic flights for themselves and their families (34 for a year) and first-class train travel at any time for professional and personal use as well as enjoying benefits of 50,000 free units of electricity and 4,000 kilolitres of water annually.

Singapore which many Sri Lankans think the country should aspire to become has some of the best paid lawmakers in the world. An MP gets a basic salary for around Singapore $ 16,000 per month. In the UK the monthly salary of an MP is around 7,600 GBP. Added to these are various allowances. In Singapore, the salaries paid to elected MPs differ from those nominated hence it would be a good idea for National List MPs in Sri Lanka also to be paid less than those elected by the people.

Since 2010, in the UK an Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has been responsible for the regulation and payment of expenses to Members of the House of Commons. Something similar would be a good idea for Sri Lanka as well so that MPs don’t decide on their own salaries and perks.

In comparison to these countries, the payments made to Sri Lankan parliamentarians are low but given how politicians have been demonised over the years, people think anything they get is too much. The JVP which heads the NPP has played a big role in demonising the image of politicians of other parties while attempting to paint themselves white but the reality is that all JVP MPs have obtained duty free permits while in office and also a number of JVP MPs obtain a monthly pension having served a five-year term.

If you want to attract better people to take to politics full time, you have to offer them better salaries and allowances. They must also be paid adequately to maintain an office and staff as the work of MPs involves engaging with the public and there is much work to be done. The contentious issues such as the lifelong pensions after serving one five-year term and duty-free vehicles permits for MPs should be suspended. A pension scheme can be worked out depending on how many terms a MP serves. In the UK there is a pension scheme for MPs which is part of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF).

These are proposals that the Chithrasiri committee should consider.

One of the worst slogans perpetuated by the JNP/NPP and likeminded parties is that all 225 MPs in parliament are rogues conveniently forgetting that they themselves have been MPs for many years and have to share the responsibility for the dismal level to which the image of the country’s parliamentarians has fallen.

It is hoped that the NPP doesn’t use such tactics only to score points given that a general election is due in six weeks and instead ensure that MPs salaries and allowances are decided in a fair manner and not driven by prejudice and populist rhetoric.