EDITORIAL: Presidents must earn their salary!
Is N$150 000 earned by the Namibian president too much, as per the take of Dr Panduleni Itula, or – as some argued - too modest?
First, it would be extremely dangerous if anyone sought to become president because of the salary they would get. Symbolically, taking a salary implies servitude. It’s a token for serving the nation – whatever the definition of serving is. Namibia’s presidential salary is largely modest, if juxtaposed with CEOs of public enterprises in the country.
If a president arrives in the office while relatively well-off, like Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia who hasn’t taken a cent from his allocated salary since his ascension to power in 2021, a modest salary would not disadvantage them. But the problem with a modest salary, especially for a candidate who is not wealthy, is the temptation to accrue wealth while in office. It is dangerous to have a needy president.
But having a high presidential salary is a paradox, too. A huge salary can serve as an attraction to stand for president – something we would detest to see.
José Mujica, president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015, was called "the world's 'poorest' president" because he donated around 90% of his US$12 000 (about N$223 440) monthly salary to charities to help poor people and small entrepreneurs. He used a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle as a means of transportation. He was not poor in the conventional sense, but neither was he wealthy. That greatly helped him strike the balance we desperately seek in Namibia.
First, it would be extremely dangerous if anyone sought to become president because of the salary they would get. Symbolically, taking a salary implies servitude. It’s a token for serving the nation – whatever the definition of serving is. Namibia’s presidential salary is largely modest, if juxtaposed with CEOs of public enterprises in the country.
If a president arrives in the office while relatively well-off, like Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia who hasn’t taken a cent from his allocated salary since his ascension to power in 2021, a modest salary would not disadvantage them. But the problem with a modest salary, especially for a candidate who is not wealthy, is the temptation to accrue wealth while in office. It is dangerous to have a needy president.
But having a high presidential salary is a paradox, too. A huge salary can serve as an attraction to stand for president – something we would detest to see.
José Mujica, president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015, was called "the world's 'poorest' president" because he donated around 90% of his US$12 000 (about N$223 440) monthly salary to charities to help poor people and small entrepreneurs. He used a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle as a means of transportation. He was not poor in the conventional sense, but neither was he wealthy. That greatly helped him strike the balance we desperately seek in Namibia.
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