Jumblat Questions Pay Raise for Ministers, MPs: Their Salaries Must be Cut in Half to Set an Example to People
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat questioned on Monday the “shameful” proposal to raise the salaries of presidents, ministers, and lawmakers, saying that such a suggestions is unacceptable in light of the difficult financial situation in the country.
He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “Their salaries should not be raised, but cut in half to set a good example to the people.”
The PSP has long stood by the demands of the syndicate and labor authorities in their struggle for a new wage scale, he added.
It will support their efforts in order to provide the necessary funds to cover the expenses of the new wage scale in order to prevent it from becoming an “illusory” scale that drives the country towards more financial difficulties, he continued.
Furthermore, Jumblat lamented the “poor productivity” in most public sector jobs, “which makes any wage hike linked to an increase in work hours in order to increase productivity.”
The MP then made a number of proposals to resolve the poor financial situation, such as launching “serious administrative reform that can be transformed into a continuous development operation.”
He demanded the restructuring of administrations in a manner that would eliminate or merge some public institutions.
The PSP leader also suggested revitalizing the activity of the administrative judiciary and all auditing institutions.
In addition, all cases of tax evasion, especially the evasion of paying the Value Added Tax, must be monitored and dealt with, he continued.
Easing the poor financial situation can also be resolved through tackling construction violations, raising taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and cigarettes, and monitoring the squandering of funds at customs offices, Casino du Liban and other public institutions.
“The current situation cannot go on and it demands a series of bold and complementary measures,” said Jumblat.
24 September 2012, 20:04
31
ba3do bi 3awwe hal slash ma bi ghayyir! Data data data where is your data buddy? halla' this gov is the cause of all your miseries? :)
25 September 2012, 00:31
01
i wonder who bought u FT. always supporting the ridiculous and slamming anyone who talks sense. what Joumblat said makes sense, and he said it out loud, and no one has said it before. not a single word of positivity from you . i disagree with a lot of what you usually say, but u still make sense most of them time. Don't criticize for the sake of criticizing .
25 September 2012, 16:53
00
too bad i dont see any positivity ? ok. yes u r a realist but again, all ur good at doing is referring to what these political have done, but u are also very VERY VERY selective in who u choose to criticize. which is why what u say no longer count. ur comment are unfair in a general term. and plz dont patronize me by saying "'im positive that you'll manage to see past the sugar coated words of snakes." im not an idiot and i don't consider u to be either.
24 September 2012, 21:52
10
By increasing MP's salaries they will be paid 90% more then the MP's of Great Briton didn't know we had that much money to pay MPs who are already stealing the wealth of the country....
24 September 2012, 22:17
10
It looks like politicians are already writing checks that they can't in anticipation for oil and gas exploration. Jumblatt is a reformer! Does he have a plan that he can get other MP to sign on to or is this just another speech?
25 September 2012, 07:09
11
I could not disagree more! Cutting the salaries in half would only increase corruption and bribery. It wouldn't hurt the rich feudal lords like jumblatt but would increase the chances that regular mp and ministers begging for money.
Salaries of judges, prosecutors, police and basic salaries of the military should increase. So too should a corruption watchdog be setup.
Taxes on alcohol and cigarettes should be increased dramatically (at least 200%). They are too cheap and are harmful to peoples health. Australian gov made $5.5 billion in cigarette taxes alone last year. Australia has only 3.5 million estimated smokers. how many of lebanon's 4.5 million do you think smokes?
25 September 2012, 14:42
00
Did you know that any MP elected for two terms is eligible for lifetime salary???
