‘Pace nor spin’ won’t contain revolt over salary increases – Ramkarran
Monday, October 19 2015, Source
AN ILL-ADVISED act of self-indulgence, bereft of sensitivity, devoid of principle and support – except from its beneficiaries – is how former House Speaker, Ralph Ramkarran termed the salary increases that the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government gave itself. Approved in September, the massive increases in the pay packets of APNU+AFC officials were exposed by a media report two weeks later.
The former House Speaker and regular political commentator is the most recent to come out against the move, as have several sections of society, including the political Opposition, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), and supporters of APNU+AFC – Christopher Ram and Annand Goolsarran. In the face of these criticisms, the leadership of APNU+AFC, including President David Granger, has defended the move.
However, Ramkarran contends that the salary increases, as well as the defenses mounted, will “continue to seep into the national consciousness and will eventually coagulate around negative perceptions, usually expressed in the dismissive ‘they’re all the same’.
“The Government had a golden opportunity to begin the move away from the arrogance and the discredited practices of the past. Repeated suggestions are in the public domain, articulated not long ago by Henry Jeffrey, for the establishment of a statutory structure comprising various sectors of the society to periodically review salaries of government ministers as exists in many countries, including neighbouring ones. Even if this were not possible within the time frame that the Government had in mind, an ad hoc, independent, committee was possible,” he said in his weekly blog, ‘Conversation Tree’.
His objections were included in an article headlined ‘The honeymoon is surely now over’.
“The short-sighted manner, the deceptive process and the defiant tones which accompanied the decision, will colour the outlook by which the Administration is viewed, including by its friends and well-wishers,” he said.
Ramkarran has since warned that if the APNU+AFC administration wants to “recover some semblance of rectitude” it ought to consider the establishment of a permanent, statutory, structure and publicly commit to asking the body to review the recent increases and decide whether they are compatible with normally accepted principles and the disparities that existed immediately before the increases.
‘(Such a concession) would go a far way in removing public disquiet over the matter, which disquiet would remain, even when the matter is overtaken by other events,” he said.
The former House Speaker questioned how it was possible that the “experience politicians” in APNU+AFC administration did not expect “revolt” from the nation over the increases, particularly in light of the fact that public servants and seniors having received less than promised on account of shortage of resources and with electricity and water subsidies being removed from seniors.
“How could the Government not know that fixing your own salaries from the public purse, which is taxpayers’ moneys held in trust, is an abuse of that trust and of the electorate’s trust? How could the Cabinet not understand that this is a blatant case of a conflict of interest, as severe as any that can be imagined?” he asked.
Ramkarran added that under the PPP/C, between 1957 and 1964, the totality of salary and benefits for a minister was $840.00 (then about US$420) per month with $120.00 as a travel allowance and a driver.
“In order to attract Shridath Ramphal, who had served as Deputy Attorney General of the West Indian Federation and was then in private practice in Jamaica, the PNC-UF coalition government in 1964 offered him a salary of $4,000.00 tax free as Attorney General. The salaries of ministers remained the same,” he said.
All considered, Ramkarran contends that the honeymoon for the APNU+AFC Government is surely now over.
As such, he charged that, “Neither pace nor spin could contain the eruption over the salary increases by ministers of the government, to themselves.”
The September 25th edition of the Official Gazette confirmed that the Prime Minister and all Government Ministers have received a salary increase. Nagamootoo, at the top of the earning bracket, will now earn $20.6M, a 10 per cent increase from what former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds was paid. Senior Ministers have had their pay packets doubled from $6.9M to $10.5m.
Junior Minister will now be paid $8.3M. House Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland, will also benefit and his salary has been upped from $6.9M to $10.4M. President David Granger will also benefit from a salary increase of 5 per cent, equivalent to $1.2M more a year.
