Senators’ Salary in Zambia – Full Breakdown
The Senate House of Zambia is the legislative arm of the Zambian government. The senators are lawmakers. The primary duty of a Zambian senator is to propose a bill, review it and pass it into law if it passes. In very rare cases, they are in charge of impeaching a seating president or government.
It is no news that the political sector is one of the most lucrative in Zambia today. It is easy to see why politicians do all they can to get political offices, especially the senate house. Have you ever wondered why politicians spend a ludicrous amount of money for their campaign into political offices?
This is because they aim to recuperate financially once in office. The Senate house of the national assembly in Zambia is one of the most viable offices and the competition to get a seat in the house is hard.
This post takes a look at detailed breakdown of how much senators earn in Zambia today.
- Estacode
- Hardship allowance
- Constituency allowance
- Furniture allowance
- Newspaper allowance
- Wardrobe allowance
- Recess allowance
- House maintenance
- Utilities
- Domestic staff
- Entertainment
- Personal assistant
- Vehicle maintenance and fueling allowance
- Motor vehicle allowance
- Duty tour
In relation with what other senators in other nations earn, it is safe to say that Zambian legislators are the most highly paid in the world. Among other countries, lawmakers in Tanzania earn a total of $230, 961 per annum while assembly members in Singapore get $253, 469 per annum. To make things worse, a senator of the United States of America earns $174, 000 per year.
Senators Salary: What You Should Know
Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world and arguably among the most corrupt and does not have an efficient checks and balances to properly inspect that the allowances paid to senators are used just as the receipts shows, noting that it is very possible for receipts to be forged. Because of this, a member of the legislature house in Zambia can generally spend his allowances whichever way he or she deems fit. Not only is parliamentary reimbursement in Zambia enormous compared to the general wealth of the country, but it is largely loose and subject to abuse.
Due to the fact that levels of parliamentary compensation in Zambia are so high that there is a mutual understanding that service in the National Assembly is an aspect of patronage relationships and should be rotated between ethnic groups, local regions, and religions. This is one of the many reasons why, following each national election, more than sixty percent of parliamentarians are new.
More so, besides the monthly salary and monthly allowance, there is another project called, Constituency fund for federal lawmakers. For this project, A senator is given the sum of 200 million naira, but not in cash. This senator is required to submit projects that are equivalent to that amount. This is meant to be carried out through an agency of government but with the senator overseeing. The problem with this is that it gives more room for corruption because more often than not, these projects are not enforced and the money is disbursed. Where does this money go? Who tracks it? What is the penalty when a senator is caught cheating the system.
As a result of the extravagant lifestyle lived by politicians coupled with the tenacity in which they fight for this office has since raised the eyebrows of Zambians. They have concluded that patriotism is not the core reason for this frenzy every four years.
