Zema asks the Assembly for a 258% salary increase – 03/27/2023 – Power

The governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), asked the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais that his salary, as well as those of the deputy governor, secretaries and deputy secretaries of state, be increased by up to 258% from the next day 1st.

A bill providing for the readjustments was presented by the Board of Directors of the House, at the request of the governor last week. The text also foresees other increases in 2024 and 2025.

On Friday (24), the governor took to social media to say that he made the request to the command of the Assembly and also to thank him for having been answered.

“For Minas to continue advancing, it is necessary to attract and keep the most competent in the technical staff. There are more than 15 years of freezing the salaries of state secretaries, a situation incompatible with the position. I thank Almg who presented, at my request, PL (project of law) that solves the problem”, said Zema at the time.

If the project is approved, the governor’s salary will be the one that will have the biggest readjustment, going from R$ 10,500 to R$ 37,589.96, an increase of 258%. The salaries of the vice-governor will go from R$ 10,250 to R$ 33,830.96, a 230% readjustment.

Secretaries will increase from R$ 10 thousand to R$ 31,238.19 and assistant secretaries from R$ 9,000 to 28,114.37, an increase of, in both cases, approximately 212%.

The text foresees two other increases starting next year. In the case of the governor’s paycheck, if the project is approved, the value will increase from R$ 37,589.96 to R$ 39,717.69 in February 2024 and to R$ 41,845.49 in February 2025.

The vice-governor, secretaries and assistant secretaries will also have raises in the next two years, if the measure materializes.

In the justification for presenting the project, the text states that the objective is to adjust the remuneration of the governor, deputy, secretaries and assistant secretaries.

“It should be noted that the project was launched in this House as a result of the command provided for in the State Constitution, in its article 61, paragraph 21, according to which it is incumbent upon the Legislative Assembly to dispose, with the governor’s sanction, on the setting of subsidies for the governor, lieutenant governor and secretaries of state.”

The justification also says that the presentation of text of this nature is attribution of the Board of Directors. The project states that the proposal aims to recompose the losses arising from the accumulated inflation in the period, “considering the fact that the amounts currently paid have been in force since January 2007”.

Donation

Businessman, Governor Zema, in his first campaign for the government of Minas, in 2018, stated that he would not receive the expected salary for his position. Upon taking over, he announced that he would donate the amount to social support institutions.

The report asked the governor’s advisor if the decision would be maintained if the new value is approved by the Assembly, but there was no response until the publication of this text.

The opposition criticized the governor’s decision to try to increase his salary and that of assistants.

“The governor says that the state is in crisis and wants to increase his salary? Does he want to increase it to donate? Wouldn’t it be better to make social policies?”, questioned the leader of the minority in the Assembly, deputy Doctor Jean Freire (PT).

The leader of the Minas em Frente bloc, Cássio Soares (PSD), from the governor’s base in the House, said that the salaries of the governor and assistants are past time to be readjusted.

“The percentage is not high. The gap is high,” he declared. She also said that there will be no problems in the approval of the text by the House. “There is a lot of common sense to approve this project”, she said. The project should be forwarded to the commissions phase in the next few days.