THE Government will spend $15.5 million on salaries and entitlements of political appointees and domestic servants this year, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told Parliament this week.

The amount is $200,000 less than what it spent on political appointees last year, according to figures produced in Parliament.

Mr Sogavare was responding to a series of questions asked by the Opposition Leader Jeremiah Manele on Monday.

Mr Manele wanted to know the number of political appointees engaged to date under the Prime Minister’s private and political office.

He also wanted to know the scales of pay as well as the combined salaries and other entitlements of the PAs.

In response Mr Sogavare said:

“To date, there are 57 Political Appointees … engaged by the Government. This includes people working on the policy implementation evaluation monitoring unit at the CAUCAS (Office) and the Prime Minister’s private and political office and also include all the domestic servants as well.

“In reference to what the pay scale is, we have three officers on level 10, one officer on level 13, 19 officers on SS3 level, two officers on level 11, one officer on SS1 level, nine officers on SS4 level, nine officers on level 12 and four officers on SS2 level,” Mr Sogavare said.

“The combined salary and entitlements of the political appointee I think that is wrapped up in the payroll cost; in 2015 the cost is $13.6Million, for 2016 the cost is $15.7Million and for 2017 the cost is $15.5Million,” the Prime Minister said.