Legislators are already paid more than 18 times as much as the average factory worker

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Members of parliament in Lesotho are demanding to double their salary despite already being among the best-paid people in the country.

MPs earn 37,000 loti (£2,091) a month, which is more than 18 times the average factory worker’s salary of 2,000 loti. They also get 500,000 loti (£28,000) in interest-free loans at the beginning of each parliamentary term.

One legislator told the Lesotho Times: “There have been negotiations between us and the government through the deputy prime minister over salary increments. Our entry point in these negotiations is a 100% increment.”

Another said salaries should be doubled if the interest-free loans were scrapped.

The prime minister, Thomas Thabane, told parliament he had ordered the establishment of “a body made up of various ministers to implement the proposed revised parliamentarians’ salaries and incentives structure”.

The row mirrors others across the continent, including one over Kenyan MPs’ benefits, which has earned legislators the unenviable epithet “MPigs” on social media. They want their travel, vehicle and housing allowances increased and medical cover extended to multiple wives.

Last week the Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, told them off for the demands. “Everyone wants to live a good life, but before we as leaders live a good life we should make sure that our people get the best,” he said.

Nigerian legislators are among the world’s highest-paid. This year the Kaduna politician Shehu Sani said he and his fellow senators received 13.5m naira per month in personal expenses along with their 750,000 naira salary, which equates to nearly £31,000 a month in a country where most people earn less than £1.60 a day.