The Member of Parliament representing Constituency 003 Kailahun, Honourable Hindolo Moiwo Gevao on Sunday during the AYV on Sunday program disclosed that salaries of Members of Parliament (MPs) has been increased to twenty million five hundred thousand Leones (Le 20,500,000.00) per month.
He explained that this is one of the contributing factors to the continuous increase in the country’s Wage Bill, stating that when the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) took office in 2018, the salaries of Members of Parliament was at twelve million five hundred thousand Leones (Le 12,500,000.00) per month.
Hon. Gevao, disclosed that before the 2018 General Elections, MPs were only receiving their basic salaries without any additional allowances but currently each and every MP is receiving fuel allowance at the end of the month, which they were not getting before this Government came into office.
He made these disclosures after being pressed by both Hon. Abdul Kargbo (APC) representing Constituency 077 Port Loko and Hon. Sahr Charles (C4C) of Constituency 028 Kono district, that the Government is deliberately refusing to explain to the public the true reasons for the increase in the Wage Bill from Le 1.81 trillion in 2017 to Le 3.90 trillion in 2022.
According to Hon. Abdul Kargbo, the government is hiding behind the teachers and Security Forces for the increase in the wage bill, while refusing to say they have established additional Ministries, Department and Agencies that require staff to run them with additional burden on the wage bill.
He argued that the salary increment did not only start under this current Government to warrant the sporadic increase on the Wage Bill, as previous Governments had been increasing salaries without such outburst on the Wage Bill. He maintained that the new MDAs established are the reason behind the increase in the wage bill as offices are being opened to create jobs for the boys.