Mega salary increases

By Kristen Macklingam

In light of the recent move by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC)

Former Foreign Trade and Education Minister, Dr Henry Jeffrey

Government to award itself  a whopping 50 per cent salary increase shortly after  giving public servants a miserly five per cent increase, the Administration will now have to deal with the repercussions of such a decision. According to former Foreign Trade and Education Minister, Dr Henry Jeffrey, there will be major repercussions at the upcoming local Government polls. “Of course, there is no question about it. They (the Government officials) are disillusioning people,” Dr Jeffrey said on Sunday during an interview with Guyana Times. He said that APNU/AFC supporters obviously feel disenfranchised by the move, and the coalition would feel the consequences of it. “While these people (the APNU/AFC supporters) may not vote for the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), they certainly wouldn’t go to the polls…This would stay in the public’s mind until the next national elections also. So there is no question about this,” Dr Jeffrey posited. He stated that the stigma of this act would go down in the history of the APNU/AFC coalition, and as such, there would be major ramifications that the Administration would have to address for its future in office. “It is not going to go away…certainly they (Government) only won by a small majority in the last General Elections. People, particularly those who are at the poorest levels, might just decide not to go to the polls…the enthusiasm that they (Government) generated during the last elections, they would be unable to do that the next time,” he stated. When Guyana Times published some months ago facts of the proposed salary increases for Government officials, the public responded negatively, which prompted the Administration to deny the reports. However, they later went ahead and increased their salaries. The increase was publicised by Guyana Times, after it was published in the official gazette on September 25 without the public being notified.

Unfortunate Responding to questions about the manner in which the increase was done, Dr Jeffrey stated that such a move cannot be “morally justified”. “It was unfortunate definitely, the Government was told not to implement salary increases by the people of this country, when they tried at the previous occasion, and I think that it is unfortunate that they did not take heed of that.” He added that Ministers and senior Government officials have always been paid “relatively well in comparison to the ordinary public servants”. Dr Jeffrey added that it was ironic that it was the very same Government who were the ones that were always complaining about the high salaries of Ministers in the previous Administration. “Fat living and all of that, they complained about… it makes no sense politically, it makes no sense. The justification itself was waffled, I mean when you listen to it, it has no content. The literature does not bear out any notion that by paying people that kind of money it means that they wouldn’t be corrupt,” Dr Jeffrey added. Even as the public was outraged over the move by Government to increase its Ministers’ salaries by 50 per cent, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon defended the Cabinet’s decision calling the increase “justified”. Minister Harmon on Tuesday said that the Government had to pay itself well if it wanted itself to perform well. “I am not going to say that I make any apologies whatsoever for Ministers getting increase in salaries, they deserve it,” he told the media at a recent press conference. The Minister’s statement sent shockwaves throughout the country given the fact that the new Government and its Ministers have only been in office just under four months. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who vehemently protested the extravagant lifestyle of the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Ministers, and had condemned the super salaries paid to its Government officials, will now receive a salary of over $20, 580, 000 annually. The three other Vice Presidents (Khemraj Ramjattan, Carl Greenidge and Sydney Allicock) who will now pocket $11, 135, 064 annually will altogether cost the public purse $33, 405, 192 per annum. The Senior Ministers in Government namely Cathy Hughes, Joseph Harmon, Ronald Bulkan, Noel Holder, Amna Ally, Winston Felix, Rupert Roopnaraine, Raphael Trotman, Dr George Norton, David Patterson, Dominic Gaskin, Volda Lawrence and Winston Jordan will each cost the public purse over $10, 439, 124 per annum. Altogether, they will rack up a bill of $135,708, 612 annually. In addition, the Junior Ministers namely Jaipaul Sharma, Simona Broomes, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, Annette Ferguson, Nicolette Henry, Karen Cummings and Keith Scott will pocket $8,346,492 annually. Altogether the public purse will be charged $58,425, 444 per annum for these recently-appointed Ministers.