Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon says that he has no reason to believe that former president Bharrat Jagdeo is not accessing his benefits under the Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act 2009.
He said that Jagdeo became entitled to his benefits when he left the presidency “and I have no reason to believe that he has not been accessing those benefits. I think the only person who could indeed disclaim not being in receipt is the (former) president but I cannot imagine…the former president being eligible to receive these benefits since the 5th of December 2011 when president Donald Ramotar was sworn in that eight months plus later he would not have seen the benefits to which he is legally and lawfully entitled,” Luncheon said in response to a question by Stabroek News at his post-cabinet media briefing on Wednesday.
He gave a similarly cryptic answer when he was last asked about this in March this year. Luncheon had said then: “I think you better ask the former president that but as a pensioner myself, an NIS pensioner, I think that