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Rais Jakaya Kikwete PICHA|MAKTABA
Na Goodluck Eliona, Mwananchi
Posted Oktoba19 2013 saa 10:8 AM
Dar es Salaam. Siku chache baada ya Mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya Hesabu za Serikali (PAC), Zitto Kabwe kutaja hadharani mishahara ya Rais Kikwete na Waziri Mkuu, Mizengo Pinda, serikali imekataa kuizungumzia mishahara hiyo.
Msimamo wa Serikali kutotaja mishahara ya viongozi wakuu unatofautiana na utamaduni wa nchi nyingine kama Marekani, Afrika Kusini, Ufaransa na Kenya ambazo mishahara ya wakuu wake huwekwa wazi kwa umma.
Zitto ambaye pia ni Naibu Katibu Mkuu wa Chadema akiwa wilayani Igunga Mkoani Tabora, alisema Rais Kikwete anapokea zaidi ya Sh30 milioni kwa mwezi (sawa na Sh360 milioni kwa mwaka) ikiwa ni marupuru na mshahara kwa mwezi bila kodi, huku Pinda akipokea Sh 26 milioni kwa mwezi.
Akizungumza na Mwananchi kwa simu jana, Waziri wa Nchi, Ofisi ya Rais – Menejimenti ya Utumishi wa Umma, Celina Kombani alisema kiongozi yeyote haruhusiwi kutaja mshahara wa mtu mwingine kwa kuwa kufanya hivyo ni kinyume cha sheria ya utumishi wa umma.
"Kuutaja mshahara wa mtu mwingine ni kinyume cha sheria na kosa, siyo utaratibu. Kwani wewe upo tayari watu waujue mshahara wako?" alihoji.
Aliongeza kuwa ingawa mishahara ya viongozi hao inatokana na kodi za wananchi, sheria ndiyo inayozuia watu kuyataja malipo hayo hadharani na kwamba hayupo tayari kuutaja mshahara wa rais au kiongozi mwingine labda mtu huyo autaje yeye mwenyewe.
"Siwezi kutaja mshahara wa bosi wangu wala wa kwangu mwenyewe. Wewe unaujua mshahara wa Obama (Rais wa Marekani)?" alihoji tena.
Akizungumzia mishahara ya marais wa nchi nyingine duniani kuwekwa wazi, Kombani alisema kila nchi ina utaratibu wake na kwamba Tanzania haijafikia hatua hiyo.
Alipotafutwa kulizungumzia suala hilo, Katibu Mkuu Kiongozi, Balozi Ombeni Sefue simu yake ya mkononi iliita bila kupokewa. Gazeti hili pia liliwasiliana na Naibu Mtendaji Mkuu mwenye jukumu la kuanzisha na kuongoza Idara ya Mageuzi ya Kilimo Ofisi ya Rais Ikulu, Peniel Lyimo ambaye alisema yeye si mhusika. "Masuala yote yanayohusu utumishi yapo Wizara ya Utumishi," alisema Lyimo.
Akianika mshahara wa Waziri Mkuu, Zitto alisema kwamba kiongozi huyo analipwa Sh11.2 milioni kama mbunge, Sh8 milioni kama waziri na Sh7 milioni kwa nafasi yake ya Waziri Mkuu, hivyo, kumfanya kupokea zaidi ya Sh300 milioni kwa mwaka.
Hata hivyo, Kombani alilionya gazeti hili kuandika taarifa za mishahara ya watu kwa kuwa kufanya hivyo ni kosa.
Mhadhiri wa Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, Dk Bashiru Ally alisema Mwalimu Nyerere aliwahi kutaja mshahara wake hadharani na kuhoji viongozi wanaotaka mishahara yao isitajwe wanaficha nini.
"Hata wakificha mishahara yao bado wananchi wataona maisha wanayoishi kuwa si safi," alisema. Wanaharakati pia wahoji
Mwenyekiti wa Jukwaa la Katiba Tanzania (Jukata), Deus Kibamba alisema siyo kosa kwa mtu yeyote kutangaza mshahara wa viongozi wa umma kwa kuwa wanalipwa kutokana na kodi za wananchi.
Aliongeza kuwa kuanzisa sasa atakuwa balozi wa kutangaza mishahara ya viongozi hao, ili kila mwananchi aweze kufahamu kama ambavyo imekuwa ikifanyika katika nchi nyingine duniani.
"Ninachojua mimi ni kuwa dhana ya mshahara inataka kuwepo na siri baina ya mwajiri na mwajiriwa, lakini si kwa viongozi wa umma ambao wanalipwa na kodi za wananchi. Kuanzia sasa hivi nitakuwa balozi wa kutangaza mishahara ya viongozi hao ili kila mtu ajue," alisema Kibamba.
Katibu Mkuu wa Tanzania Labor Party (TLP), Jeremiah Shelukindo alisema ni vyema kila mtu akaheshimu sheria inayozuia kutaja mshahara wa mtu mwingine kwa kuwa kitendo hicho kinaweza kuwaudhi baadhi ya viongozi wa umma.
"Si vizuri kuingiza siasa kwenye mambo ya mishahara. Siyo mara ya kwanza kusikia watu wakijaribu kutaja mishahara ya watu wengine huko ni kukiuka sheria," alisema.
Naye Mkurugenzi wa asasi ya Sikika, Irenei Kiria alisema umefika wakati ambapo inabidi uanze kufanyika mchakato wa kuzibadili sheria zinazolenga kulinda masilahi ya viongozi wa umma.
"Tunataka kujua viongozi wanalipwa shilingi ngapi na kwa nini wanalipwa kiasi hicho," alisema Kiria
Nchini Marekani, mshahara wa rais unajulikana tangu mwaka 1789 kiongozi wa nchi hiyo alipokuwa analipwa Dola 25,000 kwa mwaka.
Kuanzia 2001 hadi sasa, Rais wa Marekani analipwa Dola 400,000 (Sh 640 milioni) kwa mwaka, sawa na Sh 53.3 milioni kwa mwezi.
Rais wa Afrika Kusini, Jacob Zuma analipwa Randi 2 ,917 038 sawa na zaidi ya Sh400 milioni za Kitanzania kwa mwaka, Rais wa Ufaransa, Francois Hollande Sh475 milioni, Waziri Mkuu wa Uingereza, David Cameron Sh338 milioni, Rais Uhuru Kenyatta wa Kenya Sh277 milioni na Rais wa Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba Sh226 milioni kwa mwaka.
Wengine na malipo wanayopata kwa mwaka ni Marais wa Urusi, Vladimir Putin, Sh174 milioni, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wa Liberia Sh137 milioni, Michael Satta wa Zambia, Sh126 milioni, Rais wa Angola, Jose dos Santos Sh91 milioni, Rais wa Lesotho, Profesa Pakalitha Mosisili Sh88 milioni, Armando Guebuza wa Msumbiji, Sh84 milioni na Rais wa Jamhuri ya Watu wa China, Xi Jinping Sh60 milioni.
Wengine ni Rais wa India, Pranab Mukherjee Sh49 milioni, Rais wa Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe Sh27 milioni, Naibu Rais wa Afrika Kusini, Kgalema Mothlanthe Sh331 milioni, Waziri Mkuu wa Namibia, Nahas Angula Sh160 milioni, huku Baba Mtakatifu wa Kanisa la Romani Catholic, Papa Benedict XVI akifanya kazi bila kulipwa mshahara.
Dar es Salaam. In two years' time, President Jakaya Kikwete will join the ranks of Africa's former heads of state and be eligible for the Sh8 billion retirement bounty that eluded his predecessor Benjamin William Mkapa.
Considered a "dream send-off" for elected presidents who impacted positively on their nations, The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership will be the icing on the cake should Mr Kikwete scoop the award.
The President will step down in 2015 after two five-year terms and qualify to compete for the prize that comes with a Sh320 million ($200,000) cheque every year.
In its seventh year now, the prize is the biggest financial reward ever to an outgoing chief executive of a country.It was launched in 2006 by billionaire businessman Mo Ibrahim to promote democracy and good governance on the continent.
Since its inception, only three former presidents--Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, Festus Mogae of Botswana and Pedro Pires of Cape Verde have bagged the prize. Former President Benjamin Mkapa missed out in the first three years after his retirement in 2005 and is now time barred.
On Monday, a panel of seven judges failed, for the second consecutive year, to award the prize as the contenders did not meet the criteria. It was the fourth time that a winner was not declared.
The prize committee that included former Tanzania premier and AU secretary-general Salim Ahmed Salim and Graca Machel--wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela--urged sitting heads of state to raise their game.
Tanzania's record in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance has fluctuated over the years but appears to have taken a sharp decline this year, slumping seven places to its worst performance at number 17. In 2012, the country was ranked 10th while it was 13 in 2011.
Past winners continue to top the chart except Mozambique, which was ranked 20. Botswana is second and Cape Verde third. Mauritius tops the chart, with the Seychelles and South Africa completing the top five. At number 15, Rwanda is the best placed of the EAC countries.
Dar dropped vital points in all criteria except human development, dampening President Kikwete's chances of becoming the first leader from the East African Community to win the coveted prize.
Tanzania scored poorly in sustainable economic opportunity, safety and rule of law and participation and human rights. Sub-categories addressed under the economy were public management, business environment, infrastructure and the rural sector.
Economic opportunity for Tanzanians shrunk between 2011 and 2013, with poor infrastructure (32.7 per cent) accounting for the biggest drop. It was followed closely by accountability (42.1 per cent), education (47.6 per cent), human rights (50.2 per cent) and personal safety (50.5 per cent).
It did well in national security (87.5 per cent), health (74.5 per cent), gender (70 per cent) and participation (63.8 per cent).
With only two IIAGs to his retirement, the question is: What should pre-occupy President Kikwete most to secure his legacy? Political pundits and analysts told The Citizen on Sunday that there was still time for the President to put his act together and finish on a high note.
According to Prof Humphrey Moshi, a senior economics lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, it is not a matter of debate that more resources and energy should be directed to overhauling the infrastructure. "With many unpaved rural roads, constant power outages, a dilapidated central railway line and the troubled Air Tanzania, the data from the Ibrahim index is nothing but a rude reminder to the President," Prof Moshi said in an interview.
While much of the national highways have been tarmacked, the university don said, the collapse of the railway system negates those results. He was unable to tell whether President Kikwete stands a chance of winning the Mo Ibrahim billions but believes the constitutional review process could be a game changer.
"If the new constitution captures national aspirations and is promulgated before the 2015 General Election as he has promised, I can see that giving him invaluable credit in the competition," said Prof Moshi.
According to the executive director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Dr Helen Kijo-Bisimba, Tanzania should strive to improve its record because, while it is ahead of many other countries, the situation on the ground is still "demanding".
"We have experienced a rise in mob justice, extra-judicial killings, kidnaps and torture of civilians," Dr Bisimba said. "Yet little action has come from the government to deal with the situation."
The ban on some newspapers also did not augur well for the President, she added. "We still have oppressive laws that deny citizens their basic right to information but the President has been silent on this and many other human rights abuses," she added. "It is such things that stand between President Kikwete and the Ibrahim prize."
Mr Semkae Kilonzo, the coordinator at Policy Forum Tanzania--a network of over 100 policy and advocacy NGOs--said public participation in matters of governance is still largely "cosmetic".
"President Kikwete should reverse the trend to stand a good chance," said Mr Kilonzo. "We know the competition is stiff and standards high, but it is possible."
Other African leaders likely to line up for the award in the near future are Pierre Nkurunzinza of Burundi (2015), Yoweri Museveni of Uganda (2016), Yayi Boni of Benin (2016) and Paul Kagame of Rwanda (2017).
The 2013 IIAG has been calculated using data from 32 independent sources including AfDB, UNICEF and WHO.
JK's sh8b retirement package - National - thecitizen.co.tz
