Various views have been expressed regarding the appeal launched by the SRP to double the salary of its newly elected 28 commune chiefs and to provide funds to these communes to improve service delivery.
With respect to different criticisms expressed by the National Assembly president and the Committee for Free and Fair Elections— which have respectively accused the SRP of trying to establish a parallel state and of playing finance orientated politics— I wish to remind the public that SRP message during the April 1, 2007 commune election was to fight corruption and to improve service delivery. Both promised actions were aimed at curbing corruption at the local level and addressing the lack of public reforms, long promised by the government.
With inadequate remuneration, insufficient modes of transportation and without even a proper office, the newly elected officials, who received the trust of the people in their communes, simply cannot perform their tasks without relying on their family's income. To expect civil servants to work for less than $1 a day is not realistic when the cost of living is constantly on the increase.
Women who are bravely making many sacrifices to join politics need even mere financial support as they perform multiple roles and functions inside and outside the home.
The SRP believes in and fully supports a system of proper remuneration as a form of encouragement for better productivity and an increase in quality of service. The winners from such a policy will be the people.
Finally, the SRP is responsible to its own activists who have demonstrated great courage and made sacrifices for the development of their communes. The SRP has made this appeal for funding in good faith and the contributions received will be used in the most transparent way. Elections are over. Let’s get to work for the benefit of our people.
Mu Sochua,
Secretary-general,
SRP
With respect to different criticisms expressed by the National Assembly president and the Committee for Free and Fair Elections— which have respectively accused the SRP of trying to establish a parallel state and of playing finance orientated politics— I wish to remind the public that SRP message during the April 1, 2007 commune election was to fight corruption and to improve service delivery. Both promised actions were aimed at curbing corruption at the local level and addressing the lack of public reforms, long promised by the government.
With inadequate remuneration, insufficient modes of transportation and without even a proper office, the newly elected officials, who received the trust of the people in their communes, simply cannot perform their tasks without relying on their family's income. To expect civil servants to work for less than $1 a day is not realistic when the cost of living is constantly on the increase.
Women who are bravely making many sacrifices to join politics need even mere financial support as they perform multiple roles and functions inside and outside the home.
The SRP believes in and fully supports a system of proper remuneration as a form of encouragement for better productivity and an increase in quality of service. The winners from such a policy will be the people.
Finally, the SRP is responsible to its own activists who have demonstrated great courage and made sacrifices for the development of their communes. The SRP has made this appeal for funding in good faith and the contributions received will be used in the most transparent way. Elections are over. Let’s get to work for the benefit of our people.
Mu Sochua,
Secretary-general,
SRP
