ATC210602: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on the draft notice determining the remuneration of Commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) for 2020/21, dated 01 June 2021

Home Affairs

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on the draft notice determining the remuneration of Commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) for 2020/21, dated 01 June 2021.

 

The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, having considered the draft notice of the President’s determination of the salaries and allowances of members of various institutions, including Commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), reports as follows:

 

1. A letter, dated 13 April 2021, was received from the President of the Republic, requesting the National Assembly to consider the draft notice of determination of the salaries and allowances of members of various institutions, including the Commissioners of the Electoral Commission (IEC) in terms of the Determination of Remuneration of Office-Bearers of Independent Constitutional Institutions Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 22 of 2014)for 2020/21, usually required by the end of the financial year.
2. On 22 April 2021, the matter was referred to the Committee for consideration and report.
3. Section 219(5) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996,provides that national legislation must establish frameworks fordetermining the salaries, allowances and benefits of judges, the PublicProtector, the Auditor-General, and members of any commission providedfor in the Constitution, including the Electoral Commissionreferred toin section 192 of the Constitution.

4.   The Determination of Remuneration of Office-Bearers of Independent Constitutional Institutions Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 22 of 2014),which came into operation on 1 April 2019, creates the necessaryframework to determine the salaries of office-bearers of Chapter 9institutions mentioned in the Constitution.

5.   Section 7 (2) of the Electoral Act 73 of 1998 provides that the conditions of service, remuneration, allowances and other benefits of Commissioners shall from time to time be determined by the President after consultation with the Commission on Remuneration of Representatives established by section 2 of the Commission on the Remuneration of Representatives Act, 1994 (Act 37 of 1994), and a distinction may be made between commissioners appointed in a full-time and part-time capacity.

6.   The President received the annual salary recommendations for the Public Office-Bearers of the Independent Constitutional Institutions from the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers.

7. The Commission having considered, amongst others, the State's wage bill and the impact of Public Office Bearers' salary increment on the fiscus of the country negatively affected by Covid-19; recommended 0% salary increment for all public office bearers for the financial year 2020/21.

8.  The one part-time IEC Commissioner is a Judge and as such is remunerated in terms of section 2(4) of the Judges’ Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act 2001, (Act No 47 of 2001). The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, having considered Draft Notice determining the rate at which salaries, allowances and benefits are payable to Constitutional Court judges and other judges annually with effect from 1 April 2021, tabled for approval the Draft Notice to also allocate no salary increase for 2020/21.

 

Recommendation.

The Committee, having deliberated, concur with the President’s determination on the remuneration adjustment of IEC Commissioners, that a retrospective salary freeze or 0% increase be implemented for the Chairperson and other full-time Commissionersgiven their salary level for the 2020/21 financial year.For the part-time Commissioner, a similar freeze will thus apply to the daily/hourly rate which they received for 2020/21 over and above the salary freeze applicable to Judges. The Committee recommends that the National Assembly approvethe draft notice determining the remuneration of the Commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

 

Report to be considered.