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| The pension, gratuity and other benefits afforded to former Presidents and several other office holders are now subjected to the review of a special Select Parliamentary Committee.This is as a result of a motion successfully piloted by former Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge yesterday. While no reference was made to former President Bharrat Jagdeo, the original Act stipulating the payments had been made and assented to under his tenure.His benefits had been the source of much controversy. It was said to be over $2M monthly in pension and allowances.Greenidge is looking to have, at the Committee level, steps taken to repeal the legislation as well as revise the package for former Presidents and other office holders inclusive of several specific “special office” holders.Former President,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, Bharrat JagdeoWhen the former Finance Minister presented the motion for debate yesterday in the House, he was quick to point out that it is not a case where A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was looking to depress the living arrangements of former Presidents.He said that APNU was not looking to have a situation where a former President, in pursuit of an income to supplement savings, would have to devalue the office held.He stressed that it is acknowledged that “a former President is not an ordinary citizen,” and as such should not be expected to engage in some form of barter or trade in order to comfortably live out their lives.He admitted that following the passage of the legislation there were numerous debates and some level of controversy over the fact that the package could not be properly quantified.He drew reference to the $3M calculation that had been bandied about as payable to Jagdeo when he demitted office.Greenidge said that APNU did not want to reopen the debate but rather to draw the House’s attention to the concerns of the people.He noted that the great majority of Guyanese earn far below that of the pension payable to a former president and further, there is a growing disparity in the income brackets of GuyaneseGreenidge told the house of a concern where the pension now payable to a former president is 7/8 of the salary of a sitting president.He said that should this arrangement continue to be in place then several years down the line the former President could very well end up receiving a pension that was greater than his salary at the time he held office .According to the Parliamentarian, the vast majority of criticisms being leveled against the package are rooted in the fact that some of the benefits have no caps. He pointed to the provision of medical services for the former President as well as dependents and also to the level of vehicles to be afforded the individual, among others.Waste of time“Waste of time,” charged Anil Nandlall, the Legal Affairs Minister, who in lambasting Greenidge, said that he was using the wrong mechanism to achieve his objective.Nandlall pointed out that it is a fact that as had been published in yesterday’s edition of Kaieteur News, that each sitting of the House costs some $1.7M.He suggested that the Opposition should have crafted a bill “which captures their concern and Parliament will not have to be burdened to bear the expense of coming up with the Bill.”He explained that this process is “to bring a bill to amend the law…that is how you amend a law,” said Nandlall as he challenged the combined Opposition to cite an instance where precedence has been set for Greenidge’s request.“It cost this Parliament $1.7M to sit everyday and that is the taxpayers’ money and we must be careful and cautious in manner in which we use taxpayers’ money.”Second in command of APNU, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, however disclosed that “in asking that this matter be sent to a Select Committee we are simply saying that there are aspects of the legislation that in our opinion require some refinement and some more precision.”In responding to Nandlall’s position on the motion and its effectiveness Dr. Roopnarine conceded validity in his point but added that “he has not excluded the procedure that we are seeking to apply.”Dr. Roopnaraine reminded that during the 2012 campaign the issue of the president’s pension package was particular agitating even among the supports of the PPP/C given the pension package payable to the average Guyanese.He said that APNU’s position is simple in that the package payable should be commensurate with what the country can afford to pay.Dr. Roopnaraine pointed to the US restrictions on the package for its Former Presidents, and stressed that even in a first world country, not deprived as Guyana, the benefits are capped and limitedAFC Chairman Ramjattan told the House that all they are seeking is to have a committee determine what would be a proper package for former Presidents and the other office holders identified.He declared that the novelty of the motion does nothing to affect its validity.“If we say it was never done before, we should not do it then we would have never had a man on the moon.” |
