Overdue move

The rationale for salary increases is unassailable. This is not only needed to cushion off increases in inflation but also to breathe fresh air into the services gone sluggish, or what is worse, turned corrupt through poor take-home salary packet. Unworkable salaries as well as fuelling corruption also creates a perverse justification for it. As a result, professional ethics and performance efficiency are exponentially sacrificed at the altar of corruption, malpractice and free wheeling and dealing exploits.

We are all for a salary structure that brings the best in the government employees, help them take the lid off their energy and creativity reserves and improve the service delivery at all levels. The new pay scales have not, however, been announced with any obvious emphasis laid on the need for improving performances. But our hope is the salary raises will help step up dynamism of the positive kind in the public services leading to effective and efficient governance and service-delivery topped off by a decline in corruption. One has to say that some of the money that could be diverted to poverty eradication in a context where rich-poor gap has horrendously yawned is being given to the salary account; to that extent, the officials must feel obligated to serve better.

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The new pay scales have been finalised after careful consideration of their likely effect on the economy. We can see that a staggered payment mode has been adopted to keep the inflationary pressures within manageable budgetary controls. But the finance minister has warned us of the greed factor in the traders pushing up prices on the excuse of salary increases to which possibility he seemed resigned. But why mustn't the government make sure that free market does not mean that it would be totally in the hands of the traders? It is the government's responsibility to strengthen supply and distribution sides of the economy so that scarcities are not fuelled by speculative trading leading to price hikes.

At the macroeconomic level, the revenue earnings will have to be vastly improved, borrowing from banks kept in check, grandstanding with an election year ADB avoided and austerity maintained across the board in government spending.

The salary increase has been actuated by the impelling necessity to cover inflation, but if the raises lead to bursting of the inflationary seams then, instead of doing good, it will bring harm to the country.