The only Member of Parliament for the opposition Alliance for the Progressives (AP) Wynter Mmolotsi has said the selection by the ruling party of specially nominations of legislators and councilors is skewed and obsolete.
Contributing to the President’s State of the Nation Address Thursday, Mmolotsi claimed a whopping P35.7m is spent for sitting specially elected councilors every five year.
“I take it that we should have a conversation around this issue [Specially elected politicians] at least to halve the number or at least nominate one sitting specially elected councilor per constituency,” he argued. He put the number of sitting specially elected councilors across the country at 119.
“Every month a specially elected councilor earns a staggering P20,000 equivalent pay for a nurse. An annual P28.5m expenditure is lost on these councilors,”
“In gratuity they will obtain another overwhelming P35.7m. So it is against this backdrop that I wish and hope we have a conversant around this dispensation,” Mmolotsi said.
For 119 specially elected councilors, the AP firebrand is adamant could have created jobs for the deficient posts of nurses, teachers and doctors who are greatly needed for public services.
“The question is do we really need this dispensation. It is for us as the leadership to decide or halve this number or at least nominate one councilor per constituency to save money for the country,” Mmolotsi noted, insisting the electoral system no longer served the initially intended purpose.
“Gone are the days of scarce skills in Parliament and the Council Chambers. The question is are the specially elected MPs and councilors better than the problem the country is facing? We have shortage of posts for doctors, nurses and teachers. These 119 posts should have been extended to these gaping areas,” he concluded.
