A member of parliament (MP) is the representative of the people who live in their constituency. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term implies members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title. Member of Congress or Deputy is an equivalent term in other jurisdictions.
Below are salaries earned by Member Of Parliament In South Africa
What do MPs earn?
National Assembly speaker and National Council of Provinces chairs
The highest-paid MPs are the speaker of the National Assembly and the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). Those positions are currently held by Thandi Modise and Amos Masondo. Both are members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
The government gazette shows that both will earn R2,825,470 in the 2018/19 financial year. That works out to R235,455 a month.
Their salaries are the same as the deputy president’s, an indication of their seniority. They also earn more than cabinet ministers, who get R2,401,633 a year – or R200,136 a month.
National Assembly deputy speaker
The next highest-paid MP is the National Assembly’s deputy speaker, who earns R1,977,795 a year – the same as a deputy cabinet minister. This works out to R164,816 a month. Lechesa Tsenoli is the deputy speaker.
House chair
The house chairperson is next on the pay scale. It’s currently Sylvia Lucas, who earns R1,882,488 a year.
Senior MPs
After the house chair comes a group of senior MPs – the chief whip of the majority party, the chief whip of the NCOP, and the parliamentary council president and deputy president – who earn R1,600,467 a year. The leader of the opposition, currently Mmusi Maimane of the Democratic Alliance, is also in this group. Their monthly salary works out at R133,372.
Committee chairs
MPs who chair parliamentary committees earn R1,405,015 a year, or R121,251 per month.
Minority party leaders
Leaders of minority parties, such as Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party and Bantu Holomisa of the United Democratic Movement, earn R1,309,563 a year or R109,130 a month.
Regular MPs
The lowest salary an MP in the national assembly or NCOP earns is R1,106,940 a year, or R92,245 a month.
What benefits do MPs receive?
We asked parliament what benefits MPs receive other than the salaries listed in the government gazette.
MPs also get “facilities”, parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo told Africa Check. These are the costs:
88 single journeys a year (by air, train, bus, or car)
Daily commuting
Travel to and from airports
Parking at airports
Relocation
Travel for their dependants
Tools of the trade, including a cellphone, tablet, and laptop
Equipment and furniture for their offices
Stationery
Personal accident insurance
Accommodation in parliamentary villages (three complexes in Cape Town that house MPs when parliament is in session)
Transport from the villages to parliament
The facilities are provided to “enable members to perform their duties as elected public representatives”, Mothapo said. But the details of what’s included in these facilities are not available. “They are published in a handbook distributed to members of the national assembly and permanent delegates of the NCOP.”
MPs get annual salary increases based on recommendations by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers and benchmarked on forecasts of average annual inflation. The commission recommended a 4% salary increase for MPs for the 2018/19 financial year.
But President Cyril Ramaphosa decided not to follow the commission’s recommendations, announcing a freeze on increases for 2018/19. A December 2018 government gazette confirms that MPs will get the same salaries they received in 2017/18.