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Comments on Bharrat Jagdeo’s hypocrisy
Jan 28, 2016 Letters
Dear Editor,
Dr. Henry Jeffrey has written in his SN Column (27/1/16) about the 3 Ps: Public Purse, Pay and Patronage. This brings to mind the other notorious Ps under the Jagdeo regime when it was all about Perks, Privileges and Pensions.
We recall the indecent haste by that administration to set Presidential Pensions, whilst Jagdeo was winding down his second term, at some $3 million monthly, in both cash and kind. The new Government has since amended the law passed by Jagdeo, to cap and limit the pay bonanza -at the expense of the public purse.
The new Government has established what it described as the Hunch-man Can Mission to restructure and re-align salaries payable to public servants. It is hoped that the recommendation would cover salaries to Ministries and MPs so that a sitting Government does not technically set salaries for its own Ministers, as Dr. Jeffery advised.
But it may belabour the point that it was all pure petty politics-another dimension of the P syndrome. When Jagdeo complained that Ministers of the Coalition save themselves “humongous” salary hikes, he said nothing about bumping up his own salary as leader of the Opposition to the level of the salary of the Prime Minister when he chose to take his pension rather than a senior Minister’s pay as his salary. He did not complain, not even express a whimper of protest, when a block vote in excess of $20 million yearly was allocated for the Leader of the Opposition’s office, which was a 100% increase above that given to the former Opposition Leader, Brigadier David Granger.
As I understand is the salary of a Junior Minister is lower than that of a Permanent Secretary, and that of a Senior Minister is on a similar level as the salary paid to the former Head of the Presidential Secretariat as the Presidential Advisor. The salary of former Attorney General Nandlall, which is tax free, remained higher than that paid to the current Prime Minister. So, the bellyache about what Ministers set in salary ought to come to an end, and not continue to engage self-serving debates. We need to look to the future, and hope that all wages and salaries of persons who hold Public Office are set along specified guidelines, that include qualifications, experience and strategic positioning.
James Jagroop
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