Ministerial Salary increases…

– insists on earning more than AG As the National Assembly wrapped up the 2015 Budget Debates, Prime Minister and First Vice President under A Partnership for

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition Government, Moses Nagamootoo, in his presentation admitted that he proposed an increase in salary for Government Ministers but clarified that he did not ask for a 100 per cent hike. Nagamootoo’s contribution to the debates on Friday came after that of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo but preceded Finance Minister Winston Jordan’s presentation. He insisted on the arrangement even though it was a flagrant violation of Parliamentary norms and conventions. These discarded that the Opposition leader, who would summarise his parties positions and present as a coherent critique of the Budget. Nagamootoo was at the time insisting that the ruling administration had promised in its Elections Manifesto to deliver on a 21-points plan within its first 100 days in Office and has manage to fulfill many of these promises while in the process of implementing the others, and this was done with (three) days to spare. According to the First Vice President, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) opposition has commented about his perks including the number of guards he has, when the former Prime Minister under its administration had some 18 body guards. Additionally, Nagamootoo underscored that he is not getting a greater salary than what was being paid to the former Attorney General Anil Nandlall. Nagamootoo did not make it clear as to why his salary ought to be higher than the AG/Minister of Legal Affairs. He disclosed that in addition to Nandlall’s salary as AG being higher than the Prime Minister, it was also tax-free. “I’m a lawyer and if the Attorney General could have tax free, I didn’t demand tax-free… All I asked for was $100 increase more on the Prime Minister’s salary…not a 100 per cent. So what you hear the allegation trying to throw aspirations to this side of the House, it was a total untruth that we were trying to perk our salaries,” he told the Legislature. He did not mention that in demanding greater than parity with the Ag’s salary, he would be increasing his salary by over $200,000. On August 4, the Prime Minister had denied having any knowledge about Cabinet’s plans to dish out a 100 per cent pay hike for some government officialsGovernment Ministers and other Members of Parliament (MPs), failing miserably in the process to justify any increase ahead of the presentation of the National Budget. Nagamootoo’s pronouncement on the issue came at a time when public outrage was growing after the Guyana Times broke a story last week which exposed a plan by the David Granger Government to approve a significant increase in the salaries and benefits of its serving Government Ministers and MPs even though it has only been in power for three months now. When contacted by the Guyana Times about the issue, Nagamootoo was upset that this newspaper succeeded in breaking the story. Asked for a justifiable reason for this increase, the Prime Minister feebly stated, “I think the Guyana Times needs to give an explanation to the Guyanese people why they would want to say that the PM will be paid some … increase in salary. I am not aware of 100 per cent increase…” He would not counter with what might be an alternative percentage increase. All efforts to get a reason as to why Government wanted to give it an increase in pay – given that on its campaign the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition spoke vigorously against the wastage of taxpayers’ monies and exuberance associated with occupying Executive Officer, proved futile as the Vice President kept avoiding the question. “All I can tell you is that I am not getting 100 per cent increase…don’t ask me to speculate, I am not going to get 100 per cent increase…I cannot respond to you,” he said, just before referring the reporter to the Finance Minister. Efforts to contact other key Government officials on the matter proved futile. However, President David Granger was quoted in other sections of the media as saying that the salary increases are being done to basically differentiate between the payments received by the various levels of officials. Finance Minister Winston Jordan confirmed that Cabinet was actively considering a salary increase for not only Ministers of Government but advisers as well as MPs. He would not confirm nor deny the figures that have been floated in the public over the past two days. The proposed pay hike would see Nagamootoo earning approximately $2.2 million monthly, inclusive of benefits, while the three other Vice Presidents will earn a total of $5.4 million altogether monthly. Although, the Prime Minister has since denied these figures, he has failed to mention the percentage of increase being considered. Nagamootoo was responding to a request by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo for the Finance Minister to give the public assurance that the new Government would not increase the salaries of its Ministers, members of Parliament and other advisory above what was been given to public servants.

Budget presentation Meanwhile, some of those promises that the APNU+AFC has claimed to have  “fulfilled” includes: the reduction of the Berbice River Bridge toll; salary increase for government workers; measures to ease the impact of VAT, significant increase in old age pensions and public disability assistance, reduction of Presidents’ pension benefits, while noting that the establishment of passports and birth certificates licensing offices in Berbice, Essequibo and Linden is currently being executed. In almost every instance, the promises were diluted to such an extent that the promises were fulfilled more in the breach that in reality. The Prime Minister mentioned that much criticism have been directed towards Government for an enormous Budget of $221 billion to cover only the four remaining months of the year, however he explained that the budget was structured to roll over and cover the excessive spending by the PPP/C administration over the past eight months. Nagamootoo went on to debunk “scandalous destablisation” allegations against the APNU+AFC administration, accusing them of practicing “ethnic cleansing”. He underscored that such antics are not only painful and odious, but seeks to destroy the country’s ethnic fabric. He further pointed out that the coalition has retained many of the employees hired under the PPP/C regime and has not discriminated against any particular race or gender, as they are being accused of. He illustrated his incredible assertion by pointing to a few low level employees such a s cleaners and secretaries being retained. “Just to show how mischievous and malicious is this charge of ethnic cleansing… I wish to place on the record, my condemnation of this politics of intimidation, this politics of ethnic and racial incitement, this politics of national treachery that we have seen rearing its ugly head in our beloved land,” he outlined. Adding also, the Prime Minister stressed that the previous administration never intended into kept the 1,900 plus Amerindian youths beyond the elections period as they had only allocated monies to pay them up to April, a decision that was taken by the PPP/C Cabinet. On a separate note, the First Vice President stated that his heart bleeds knowing that everyone is watching the front of budget document but is not looking at the back, which portrays all of “beautiful Guyana”. The Prime Minister further noted that in spite of reference being made twice in the 2015 Budget Speech on the spurious claims of Venezuela to Guyana’s territory, none of Members on the opposition side of the House sought to extend their support of the country’s sovereignty except for the Opposition Leader. “It saddens me that those who claim to love this country, could come here and criticise our government and our President for saying that this is an unjust claim, for saying that there is no legality to the claim, for saying that we refused to talk when the record is clear that we have said we want bi-lateral talks with the government of Venezuela on matters of mutual interests but we are not talking about the border because our border has been settled by law, by Treaty in 1899, which has been deemed final on the Treaty. If those who claim our territory wish to question the validity of that treaty, they must go to a court of Law to reverse it but we are not discussing it because it does not exist as a claim; it is a controversy which they have raised,” he declared. Nagamootoo further stated that that he was expecting Jagdeo to condemn the aggression by the Spanish-speaking neighbour against Guyana’s economy, but instead “he speciously tells the House that this Government’s diplomacy is flawed”.  The Prime Minister said that with he was hoping with the support of the Opposition, together they would have been the “Magnificent Seven” but it appears as though the PPP/C is unwilling to engage in that level of cohesion and unity, adopting a “sledge hammer” approach.

Hide original message Moreover, touching on the very heated topic of crime in Guyana, the First Vice President questioned the premise upon which the former ruling administration is lecturing the APNU+AFC regime in tackling crime. He pointed out that all the Opposition has to show in their efforts of fighting crime is the association with a number of people who are in jail or are about to be jailed.