Opposition Leader David Granger
The People's Progressive Party at its weekly press conference yesterday blasted Opposition Leader David Granger for his castigation of public servants as being corrupt. In response to Granger's claim that the alleged corruption is being festered by low salaries the party said Granger has no moral authority to speak on such matters since his party pauperized public servants whilst in government by paying wages which were gobbled up by high inflation.
Read the PPP statement below:
The People's Progressive Party (PPP) wishes to respond to an article in the Monday, March 17 edition of the Kaieteur News captioned "Corruption festered by low Public Servants morale-Granger".
Granger is reported as saying that public servants turn a blind eye to corrupt practices because of inadequate wages and salaries paid to them which in turn led to low morale.
The PPP takes strong objection to the statements and insinuations made by Granger against public officials the vast majority of whom served the people of this country with high levels of dedication, competence and professionalism.
To suggest that our public servants are prone to facilitate corrupt practices in the exercise of their duties is tantamount to an attack on their integrity and professionalism.
No less disrespectful is the attempt by Granger to draw a link between the salaries paid to public servants and the standard of professionalism that currently exists in the public service.
The PPP is of the view that a public apology should be made to the nation's public servants by Granger whose Party not only lacks the political and ethical morality to speak on the issue of public servants’ salaries and conditions of work after having pauperized public servants when the PNC held power by offering salary increases which were well below the rate of inflation on a consistent basis.
One of the first task embarked upon by the PPP when it assumed office in October 1992 was to significantly increase the emoluments of public servants which at that time was a paltry G$3,000.00. per month. The salaries of public servants at the minimum level have seen consistent increases reaching today $G40, 000.00. In addition, the PPP/C government has kept inflation rates in check unlike what obtained under the PNC regime when real wages were gobbled up by the monster of inflation.
In this regard, the PPP commends the current administration for offering salary increases to public servants every year since its assumption to office in 1992 at a time when many countries in the region were forced to impose salary cuts and retrench public servants.
source: http://www.newguymedia.com