Anambra Civil Servants may not yet celebrate, as the Civil Society has reacted to reports by sections of the media, that the governor has upped the salary of the state workers by 10 percent.
The CSOs are saying that the governor never made such categorical statement.
The news of the increment alongside that of the N15,000 Christmas allowance had thrown civil servants in the state into jubilation, but the Coordinator of the CSOs in the state, Prince Chris Azor, who spoke to TNC correspondent in Awka, had cut the celebration short with the clarification.
According to the CSOs, the Governor was only reacting to the request made by the Head of Service at the Public Service Day marked in the state on Tuesday, where he said that he will look into the matter and see if it will be possible.
Azor said the governor was clear in his statement at the event, that anything that was not captured in the 2023 Budget already signed into law, cannot fly for the new fiscal year and the said increment was not in the budget.
“We want to put thing in the proper perspective because that statement is not entirely correct.
“The governor was only responding to requests made by the workers through the Head of Service for the increment in the salaries and emoluments of workers, that he will look into the matter and consider the feasibility.
“But going further, the governor said any item that is not captured in the budget will not fly. So, we are saying that this does not translate to an increment of 10 percent, and people should not go to town jubilating over the supposed increment, unless otherwise stated” he said.
The Anambra CSOs coordinator said there is however, the need for the governor to review the salaries of the workers, considering the economic hardship being faced by the workers and other citizens in the state.
He said; “In as much as we appreciate what the governor is doing in terms of road infrastructure and security, we feel there is need looking at the level of inflation and hardship and considering the recent flooding and other negative occurrences, to ramp up salaries, emoluments and other benefits of the workers, as a way of cushioning the effects of these hardships on the workers.
“And the governor has a window to do this through the mechanism of supplementary budget. And we recall that while the governor was presenting the budget draft estimate, he muted the idea that there could be a supplementary budget to boost the budget at some point.
“So, we are asking the governor to utilize the opportunity to touch the lives of the workers.”
On the recent statement by the governor that he employed about 200 health personnel to serve in the various health facilities in the state, Azor said the number is too small, considering the inadequacy of staff in the health sector.
According to him, the figure is just a drop in the ocean.
“We know that the health sector is at the core of productivity among the citizens. So, it is important that the governor takes the staffing seriously.
“Right now, most of the facilities are operating with adhoc staff. So, we are appealing to Mr Governor to take the same measure he took in the education sector, where he employed 5,000 teachers and replicate same in the health sector,” he said.
The CSO leader however commended the governor for implementing his manifesto in a transparent manner.
