PRESIDENT John Magufuli has promised to reduce withholding tax on employee’s income (Pay As You Earn - PAYE) from 11 per cent to 9 per cent in the 2016/17 financial year starting July.
He made the remarks when he led
thousands of Tanzanians to celebrate the Workers’ Day, held here
nationally, at the Jamhuri Stadium yesterday. The president said his
government, as promised during his election campaign, will continue
improving the condition of workers, noting that the single digit PAYE is
the first such step, to be followed by salary increments.
He noted that the big number of ghost
workers identified and which his government is working hard to control
are among reasons for the poor conditions of workers in the country,
noting that the money should have gone into improving workers’
remuneration.
As of yesterday, there were 10,295 ghost
workers countrywide, out of which 8,373 are in local government offices
(TAMISEMI) and 1,922 in central government who were receiving more than
11.6bn/- per month, which is 139bn/- per year, according to statistics
pointed out by the president.
He said in five years, the more than
10,000 ghost workers were paid nearly 700bn/-, which would have been
enough to build three ‘Nyerere Bridges’ or seven (7) flyovers. “I
expected TUCTA to have cursed these ghost workers, because they are the
reason for delays of salary increments for workers. According to the
figures, each ghost worker received more than 1m/-.
If this money would have been spent on
increasing salaries, how many would have benefited, or how many
hospitals would have been built?” Dr Magufuli asked. He said ghost
workers were the cause for low salaries and poor remuneration for
workers, noting that he expected TUCTA to have said something about
them.
“Ghost workers are everywhere... there
were people who were receiving salaries of more than 10 ghost workers...
people received salaries of dead people, prisoners, retirees who were
still on payroll,” he explained citing a case still in court of a TRA
employee who was receiving salaries of 17 ghost workers.
The president noted, however, that the
majority of workers were trustworthy, only to be let down by a few bad
workers who did not care about other people’s suffering. They are worse
than the devil himself, noting that he will deal with them squarely.
The government, he said, sets aside
573bn/- every month as the wage bill for government workers, which
includes salaries for ghost workers who are everywhere, stressing that
the number is even bigger than the current figure.
“It is sad and sometimes I ask myself
why I ever decided to contest for the presidency... because I want to
focus on getting money to provide improved services to the public but
find myself addressing other challenges to make sure few people do not
infringe on the rights of majority of Tanzanians,” Dr Magufuli
explained. He encouraged workers to continue working hard and with
increased dedication to help his government bring development.
The president urged the public to ignore
people who keep saying the 5th Phase government did not care about
workers, noting that workers were a priority in his government agenda
and pledging that it will continue to protect them.
The president reiterated his position
that salaries for all heads of government institutions should not exceed
15m/- per month, noting that the rest of the money will go to improve
other workers’ remunerations.
Dr Magufuli noted that some heads of
government institutions bribed their boards of directors to endorse
amounts of salaries they want, noting that there were people receiving
more than 30m/-while the lowest paid worker receives 300,000/-.
“There are workers who receive very
small salaries while others receive huge salaries... those who want more
and are not satisfied with my 15m/- specification are free to quit
office even today.
We want the money to go into improving
the lives of other low-salaried workers,” he explained. President
Magufuli said steps are being taken by his government to reconcile the
huge salary differences for which two boards have been appointed -- one
for the private sector and the other for the public sector -- to look
into and provide proposals accordingly.
Earlier, President Magufuli briefed the
public on his government’s development plans that include reviving
dormant industries and building new ones that will use latest
technologies and building the central railway line to standard gauge
from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, linking Tanzania to Burundi and Rwanda.
Dr Magufuli said he was planning to see
the national economy growing from the current 7 per cent to 10 per cent
by 2020 and lowest income per person to reach 1,500 US dollars by 2020.
He noted that his government’s
development priority was also reflected in the 2016/17 national budget,
which has increased domestic revenue and reduced donor dependence,
stressing that the focus is on development.
The president urged the public--- in
their respective places of work -- to put more effort and work hard,
noting that attaining a middle income country will not come on its own
without working hard.
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