President Granger justifies self-serving salary increases

President David Granger

Salary-gate…

… no retreat from the universally condemned move

BY MICHAEL YOUNGE

The public outcry and continued criticisms of Government’s decision to increase the salaries of its Ministers by more than 50 per cent has not moved President David Granger who on Friday finally endorsed and defended the move.

President Granger was at the time responding to questions posed by journalists on the Government’s Public Interest show aired on the National Communications Network on Friday.

Quizzed by reporters on the programme, President Granger gave his full endorsement to the massive salary hikes conceded earlier this month through publication in the National Gazette after earlier equivocations by the Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman.

Granger had initially offered as the reason for the salary increases – which includes his own tax-free one – a need to “rationalise the pay scales for the Cabinet Ministers”. On the programme, President Granger appear to endorse rationales offered by his Minister of State (need for “quality” people” who left lucrative positions) and to the request to “trust” the Government by Trotman.

He argued that the decision to increase the pay of his Ministers was not arrived at easily and citizens should accept it while viewing it as an investment in what he referred to as “good governance”.

The Guyanese Head of State said that those who joined the Executive arm of Government were earning similar salaries and in some instances more, as he dismissed the criticisms made by almost every critical and independent stakeholder in the country.

The President held the view that in time, Guyanese would understand the rationale behind the move as he continued his bid to defend the significant increases which have been widely viewed as indefensible and shameful.

Throughout the President’s response to this particular question, he did not acknowledge or respond directly to the outrage the decision has caused or the fact that Government had decided to effect the increases in a clandestine manner.

The salary-gate scandal has seen the creditability of his Government declining. So strong was the tide of the criticisms that Governance Minister Raphael Trotman was forced to address the issue at the Ministry of the Presidency’s post-Cabinet media briefing earlier in the week.

Trotman had asked Guyanese to trust the Government and to understand that the decision by the Cabinet to increase its own salary was justified, sticking to earlier arguments made by his colleague State Minister Joseph Harmon which went viral.

Following the President’s comments, social media again erupted with concern as Guyanese started expressing their disbelief that instead of reversing the increases given the mood of the people, President Granger would continue with it.

On Thursday, Non-Governmental Organisations, activists and persons closely associated with the current Administration took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction over the decision to increase the Ministers salary by 50 per cent, while public servants were handed a meagre five per cent increase in wages.

Before they took to the streets, other supporters of the Government in the persons of Dr David Hinds, Christopher Ram, Ramon Gaskin and others voiced their concerns over the move to jack up the pay of the four-month old Ministers.

The labour unions also voiced their disapproval of the Government’s decision, with one Trade Unionist reminding the President and his Cabinet that one who enters the public service does not enter with the expectation of gaining a lucrative or Private Sector salary but to serve the people and work in their benefit.

The Government’s decision has given the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic a field day as the Party from the outset criticised the move and called on the David Granger-led Administration to end its policy of giving “meat to the boys and bones to workers”.

The Party may next week move a formal motion protesting the increase in the 65-seat Legislature.

In the Official Gazette published on September 25, it was revealed a Cabinet Minister would be given a hefty sum of $10,439,124 annually. It is further detailed that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo would be benefiting from in excess of $20 million per annum, while the other Vice Presidents would each receive $11,135,064.