Cape Town - Parliament has approved a 5 percent salary increase for President Jacob Zuma, giving him an annual income of just under R3 million.
Two days ago public sector unions threatened to abandon a recent wage hike deal after the government said it would raise salaries by 6.4 percent for the first of a three-year deal and not the 7 percent agreed earlier.
Opposition parties opposed the pay hike for Zuma, arguing that he had already unduly benefited from state-funded upgrades to his rural home, which cost over $20 million in total.
But the ANC said in a statement that its “chief whip welcomes the national assembly's approval of the recommendation by the Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers' 5 percent salary increase for the 2014-2015 financial year.”
The increases will also apply to the salaries of the deputy president, government ministers, their deputies and members of parliament.
Reuters