KishanB posted:

It is impossible to live on $35,000 minimum wage

0 comments, 01/02/2014, by Editor, in Opinion

Dear Editor

We believe that each and every person in Guyana has the right to a decent standard of living. We do not mean bare survival. We mean a life with dignity. We believe that it is impossible to live with dignity on the minimum wage of $35,000. The Members of Parliament say different, so we would like them to prove it.

The basic salary each month for an MP is $158,898, plus duty free concessions and travel allowances. Ministers get a basic salary of $552,334, duty free concessions and a chauffeur allowance of $96,820. We are asking all the members of Parliament to give up their current salaries, allowances and exemptions for 6 months and live on $35,000 a month.

They must not obtain money from any other source as that would be cheating. So for example they must not take any loans, incur any debt or accept any gifts in lieu of money. MPs who are earning money from other sources must not use that money to live on during the 6 months.

At the end of the 6 months we would like our MPs to publish their expenditure showing how they have managed to live a decent life on $35,000 per month.  We would like to see how they are able to pay for books, food, housing, school fees, electricity, water, gas, transportation etc. If they are unable to do this, then we request the following:

1. An immediate doubling of the minimum wage to $70,000
2. An immediate increase in the tax free allowance from $50,000 per month to $80,000 so that all working Guyanese benefit from the increase.
3. An immediate reduction in the rate of VAT from 16% to 10% so that all Guyanese including the business sector benefit from lower prices.

Article 15 of our Constitution states that “the goal of economic development includes the objective of laying the material basis for the greatest possible satisfaction of the people’s growing material, cultural and intellectual requirements.”

Economic development in our country is unjust, inequitable and contrary to our Constitutional principles.  Let all of us, wealthy and poor Guyanese, unite for justice. Guyana is rich in natural resources. Let us share our national patrimony in a more equitable way so that each of us can live in peace, dignity and freedom.

Yours sincerely,

Ms. Melinda Janki – Justice Institute Guyana

Mrs. Ronella Hill-Wharton – Justice Institute Guyana

Bishop Francis Alleyne, OSB – Roman Catholic Bishop in Guyana

Rev. Moses Prashad – Calvary Evangelical Luther Church

Rev. Keith Haley – Guyana Congregational Union

Mr. Joel Simpson – Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Ms. Wintress White – Red Thread

Mr. Stanly Phillips, – Youths for Guyana

Quincy McEwan – Guyana Trans United

Ms. Esther Robinson – Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous Peoples

Ms. Jaqueline Lamazon – 1763 Monument Organisation

Dimitri Nicholson – Youth Challenge Guyana

Remember this - when the Catholic Bishop lash the PPP, they fell.

Today he lashes the PNC and they too will fall in 2020.

VAT on education

Despite the announcement by Government of its intention to meet with parents who are against the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on education, some are not too confident that a decision will be made in their favour.
Another protest was held outside the Education Ministry’s Brickdam, Georgetown office on Wednesday, where those views were expressed by people affected by the recent change.

While Wednesday’s protest did not attract a large crowd like it did in the past, many parents, including educators and religious leaders, still believe that the Government is not serious about removing VAT on education.
Principal of the Saraswati Vidya Niketan School on the West Coast of Demerara, Swami Aksharananda, believes that the meeting scheduled for Friday at the National Cultural Centre will not change Government’s position.
The school principal and religious leader has said if Government decides not to remove VAT on education, then those affected will have to continue to agitate.
Other parents told this publication that they hope Government will remove VAT on education in its entirety and not try to lower the imposed 14 per cent.
Mark Kazim, a parent who also spoke with Guyana Times expressed his disappointment with the move.
While Kazim did not want to pre-empt what could come out of the discussion between parents and education officials on Friday, he said the fight will continue if Government chooses not to listen to affected parents.

“We still have to fight for what we don’t believe in, and what we don’t believe in is VAT on education. Let’s see what happens after that meeting,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Roman Catholic Bishop, Francis Alleyne, who was among the demonstrators, said although many persons are not too hopeful, he would hope both parties could come to an amicable agreement.

He also said the number of people attending does not matter. “If the Government is making a genuine gesture, it’s not about the number of people but the number of issues and concerns and with that is room for discussion and dialogue on education as a whole, so that’s what I hope will happen,” Bishop Francis Allen said.
Since its implementation, Government’s tax on private education has received widespread criticism. Many are calling the decision one that has not been thought through and needs to be urgently revised or repealed.