Prime Minister earning ’40 times more’ in office by his own declaration – Jagdeo
Jagdeo, at the time, was rebutting comments made by Nagamootoo, during the debate on the Opposition’s call for public declaration of tax returns by Members of Parliament (MPs). “His (Nagamootoo’s) bank books are not evidence of integrity,” he added.
The uproar that led to Jagdeo’s quip ensued after the Opposition Leader addressed a comment made by Nagamootoo, which is that, prior to taking office, his declaration of taxes to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) was $500,000 a year.
The Opposition Leader told the House that the Prime Minster, now earning $1.7M a month and having disclosed that he paid $500,000 in taxes a year, is now earning 40 times more.
He reasoned that if a person paid $500,000 in taxes, it would mean that they earned $1.5M in a year – $130,000 a month. Adding a further breakdown, Jagdeo said Nagamootoo, based on his own declaration, earned $4,500 a day before taking office.
The House Speaker, Dr Barton Scotland, during the course of Jagdeo’s contribution to the debate, disallowed direct references to Nagamootoo.
Later, when approached by members of the media, Jagdeo expounded on his comment.
The Opposition Leader said, “He (Nagamootoo) said to me that he paid $500,000 in taxes and I had to point out that it is more than 40 times more, his benefits now, than what he said he declared to GRA. He is getting 40 times more. How could the President (David Granger) then say that he had to give a salary increase to maintain a lifestyle…40 times more is what is benefits are now.”
He added, “…if he retires tomorrow, he will get seven eights of $1.7M, which is probably higher than my pension, having served a couple of months as Prime Minister. I served 12 years as President. It’s not like I grabbed this. But he keeps mentioning this all the time as a red herring.”
According to him, Nagamootoo’s comments in the House are often times “hanging, vacuous and accusatory” – instead of aimed at addressing issues. However, he stressed that they go unanswered many times by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) in the House out of respect for the decorum of the National Assembly. “They go unanswered not because we can’t answer, but because we respect decorum of the House,” Jagdeo said.
Meanwhile, during the debate itself, the Opposition Leader debunked comments Nagamootoo made, saying that in his contribution to the debate, the Prime Minister made “fallacious” statements that run away from the issue.
“It is obfuscation of the real issue before us…. the excuse that was made here that we are somehow required to do more than is required by the Act (Guyana’s law) is misdirection – (it) does not deal with the issue at hand,” he said.
By the end of the debate, the Government hijacked the motion brought by the PPP/C to call for all MPs to declare publicly their tax returns made to the GRA and their asset declarations made to the Integrity Commission. Using its majority, Government changed and passed the motion to only call for MPs to adhere to existing laws.
