Latest update April 17th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 25, 2021 News
Kaieteur News – While the average Guyanese was receiving a COVID-19 cash grant of $25,000, the above-average Commissioners at the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) benefitted from COVID-19 relief to the tune of $150,000.
The Chairman of the ERC, Reverend John Smith, made this disclosure as he refuted claims that the Commissioners had benefited an excessive $150,000 as a Christmas bonus for Commissioners. Smith’s clarification that the payment was in fact COVID-19 relief comes on the heels of damning utterances made by an ERC Commissioner, Haji Roshan Khan.
Khan recently made public his view that mismanagement of state funds was occurring at the ERC.
Khan told Kaieteur News that the Commissioners attempted to grant themselves an extravagant Christmas bonus of $200,000 per person, but settled on $150,000, which still went against the government’s advisory of $25,000 per person in statutory bodies.
A total of $100,000 was also given to all of the ERC’s staff as a Christmas bonus and Khan had maintained that while they executed their jobs in a commendable manner, “it is unreasonable” to have that type of money as a Christmas bonus, given the government’s mandate.
Khan noted that he refused the sum and another Commissioner had also told Kaieteur News in confidence that he refused the excessive sum. “I refused to accept it because it is illegal and wrong,” Khan had said.
However, in his response to Khan’s claims, Smith said, “I am not wont to respond to every missive or contention, but the grave and libellous allegations of impropriety levelled against me as Chairman are meant to impugn my character and plunge the present Commission into disrepute.”
Smith affirmed that at its statutory meeting on November 26 last year, Commissioners voted by the majority on several measures given that funds were available. He said that it is customary that at year-end, an honorarium is given which is an ex-gratia payment and in this case, it was for COVID-19 relief. He said that the payment was approved following the majority decision for staff members and Commissioners of the ERC, including Khan to receive the relief.
The Commissioner, who spoke to Kaieteur News in confidence, said that he refused the sum and stated that Khan indeed agreed on the “bonus,” but the following day he stated that he wanted no part and would not collect the money.
Further, Smith said that the government announced a payout to the Public Service, which came weeks after the statutory meeting, but the Commission had already made its decision on the payout, which was simultaneous with the government’s initiative. In light of that, the government payout “was not applicable to the ERC in that instance,” according to the Chairman.
Last December, the government had announced a one-off payment of $25,000 to all public servants as COVID-19 relief and Smith is now saying that the Commissioners did not take the government’s cash grant since they had already agreed on a cash grant for themselves at the ERC.
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