Zuma increases salaries of public office bearers by 5%

President Jacob Zuma has announced a 5% increase in salaries of public office bearers for the 2013/2014 financial year, the presidency said on Friday. "The president will not take any salary increase. The five percent increase is effective from 1 April 2013, the start of the 2013/14 financial year," spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement. Zuma considered the recommendations of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers and took his decision after taking into account the affordability of the different levels of remuneration, the present social and economic context, and inflation. The Commission had recommended increases based on a sliding scale, which Maharaj said required careful study during the coming year to ascertain the financial implications for national, provincial and local governments. Public officer bearers include the president, deputy president, ministers, deputy ministers, MPs, premiers, and members of mayoral committees, provincial legislatures, as well as mayors, councillors, judges, magistrates, and traditional leaders.