Dear Editor,
I have always embraced a vision of a classless society in which there would be no exploitation of man by man and where people will be compensated on the basis of their needs and not according to their ability to earn.
This admittedly may appear utopian, but it does represent in my view a much more humane and just society ever known to man since the evolution of the human race.
It is for this reason that I have a fundamental problem with huge income disparities both in the private and public sectors, but more so in the public sector where some in the upper echelons of government earn over twenty times what a public servant earns at the minimum of the salary scale.
What is even more incomprehensible is the fact that those high earners benefit from a whole range of benefits and allowances which adds to their level of disposable income something which those in the lower income bracket do not enjoy.
I believe that there is a case for a review of the existing salary scales with a view to narrowing the income gap in the public service. There can be no justification for such huge income disparities especially given our relatively low per capita income.
Service, after all, is a duty, and financial reward should not be the motive for getting politically involved.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally