Govt travel allowances increase by up to 50pc

Dar es Salaam. The government has raised civil servants’ travel allowances by  50 per cent after seven years of lobbying by trade unions.

A senior Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (Tucta) official welcomed the increase, but observers said the decision could rekindle the debate on unnecessary travel by government employees and payment of trillions of shillings in allowances every year.

About Sh3.2 trillion is expected to be dished out as allowances in 2015/16, equivalent to about half of the government’s wage bill.

The increase in allowances was not factored in the 2015/16 budget and government agencies were advised in a circular issued on May 14 to “exercise frugality and limit the number of trips and/or staff who travel so that core activities (of the agencies) can be given priority”.

The per diem for mid-level managers and senior officers has increased from Sh65,000 to Sh100,000, while directors and principal officers now pocket Sh120,000 daily from Sh80,000, according to the circular issued by the Registrar of the Treasury.

It adds that the revised per diem rates were for local travel only and replace the ones that came into effect in 2008.

This means that per diems for foreign travel remain $365 for mid-level managers and senior officers and $420 for directors and principal officers.

The new allowances come at a time when the government has raised the public minimum wage by 13.5 per cent.

Some government officials who spoke to The Citizen yesterday on condition of anonymity defended the raise, saying it was in tandem with the “steep” increase in prices of essential commodities and services in recent years.

“The previous amount was too little compared to the current economic situation,” said one of the officials.

Contacted for comment, Tucta secretary-general Nicholas Mgaya said the increment was a result of lobbying by the body, adding that the new rates would help workers to cope with the high cost of living, especially when travelling on duty.

“It’s obvious that only a few workers are going to benefit from this, but generally we say it is a good move and a resounding success for trade unions,” he said.

“Hotel room rates and bus and taxi fares have increased tremendously in the past few years. The government had no option but to increase travel allowances as well.”

However, some experts said it would have been better if the government would have included allowances in workers’ salaries to curb abuse of per diems and ensure civil servants spent more time working than travelling to attend seminars, workshops and meetings.

Mr Mgaya admitted that allowances could be abused by unscrupulous government employees and that the long-term solution was to increase workers’ remuneration.

“We have been advocating better salaries and per diems, but at the same time we want equality and proper use of public funds,” he said.

Tucta had conducted a study and discovered that at least 50 per cent of the government’s wage bill went into paying allowances, including per diems, Mr Mgaya noted.

Efforts to contact the Minister of State in the President’s Office (Public Service Management), Ms Celina Kombani, were unsuccessful as her phone was not reachable.

Dr Servacius Likwelile, the Finance permanent secretary, did not pick up our calls when contacted yesterday.