PM Nagamootoo: Salary increase outrage has run its course; Government corrected abnormalties
The Prime Minister took over the post-cabinet press briefing on Wednesday afternoon and justified the increases that have been criticized by trade unions, political commentators, the opposition and even supporters of the coalition.
A defiant Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo defended the salary increases for government ministers and parliamentarians on Wednesday, while brushing aside continued criticism of the move.
The Prime Minister took over the post-cabinet press briefing on Wednesday afternoon and justified the increases that have been criticized by trade unions, political commentators, the opposition and even supporters of the coalition.
He said the issue has run its course and
he blames himself
for a poor public relations job
by the government on the issue.
“It was not explained fully and
it was not properly packaged and
I believe that the very fact
that you are asking the question
that there is 50% increase,
shows the extent to which
this matter has been allowed
to spiral out of control
in a sense”, Nagamootoo said.
The Prime Minister said there is no “love for money” motive behind the increases, but rather the government moved to correct abnormalities that existed in the salary structure for government ministers.
Mr. Nagamootoo reminded that not all government Ministers were receiving a 50% increase.
He said as Prime Minister, he is getting a 10% increase
while the junior ministers have been given a 19% increase.
The senior ministers are the ones who will be seeing their salaries bumped up by close to 50%.
The government he said, wanted to add structure to the salary scale rather than allowing an uneven structure that existed before.
He said the government was faced with a system
that saw Permanent Secretaries being paid more
than the Junior Ministers they were under.
He said the Junior Ministers will still be paid less
but the Senior Ministers saw an elevation in their salaries.
According to the Prime Minister,
he does not see any other increases
coming for Ministers for a very long time.
He said
“this is not coming because
Ministers feel that they were entitled to super salaries.
It was an adjustment for a handful of persons
that the state could have afforded at this point in time”.
The Prime Minister said
when it comes to the rest of the public service,
the government will look at increases for them also
and that could even come before the end of this year
as the administration awaits a report
from the Public Service Commission of Inquiry.
“I know down the line, public servants will be remunerated.
We are waiting on the report
that will come out of the Commission of Inquiry
and we will be guided by it”.
When he served as a Minister in the PPP administration
just after the 1992 elections,
Mr. Nagamootoo said he had turned down salary increases
that were proposed at the time by that government.
When asked what has changed now
that would make him accept the 10% increase
for him as Prime Minister, he said
“I remain the same person that I have always been”.
“It’s not that we changed,
it’s that we wanted to put in
a system that would allow us to govern better.
It’s not the quantity of the money,
it is the principle of correcting the anomalies that existed”, he said.
PM trying to cover the Mistakes of
the Old-School PNC Howlers.