Dear Editor,
With the furore surrounding pay increases for government ministers and members of parliament at full tilt, most of the urban based so-called interest groups are simply reacting to the pompous words of the Minister of State, the latter needing to eat humble pie. Missing from his rhetoric is the fact that under Bill No 3/2015, passed on July 30, 2015, which amends the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, Cap 73:02, the application of the Act is extended “to the responsible Minister”, meaning that ministers are now responsible for allocations assigned to their ministries. Therefore, not only can they be reprimanded by Parliament but they also can now be brought before the courts to answer charges of wrongdoing, unlike what transpired in Guyana over the last 49 years. This is a huge milestone in Guyana’s history. With this added responsibility, ministers are more than deserving of additional income. A law like this was unheard of under the past PNC and PPP administrations, and is also unrelated to the internal code of conduct the President has designed for members of the cabinet, and the budget measure put in place by the Finance Minister to have each ministry set up performance monitoring and evaluating systems.
The late Singaporean leader, Lee Kuan Yew, is famous for building a road to his home from the airport upon his assumption to office. He was duly criticized since none of the country’s roads were in a state of repair. In 1994 he is noted for linking ministers’ salaries to those of top professionals in the private sector, as it would ensure the recruitment and retention of talent to serve. Guyana has been contextualized by corruption, a disease which has ravaged the country. Therefore, one should appreciate this endemic ill has given rise to salary increases for ministers.
Many past government ministers currently live in large palatial homes, and it is not known how they were funded. One has to live in the business world, not locked away in little noble castles to understand that many temptations continue to exist when public officials engage with the private sector. I also hope these salaries prevent ministers from needing to use an opaque health fund to repair their teeth or obtain loans for personal matters.
Like the then Singaporean government, many key ministries here in Guyana have embarked on 5-year plans to restructure a badly wounded country, following years of corruption, greed and nepotism. What should perhaps also have accompanied the salary announcement is this fervent drive to put Guyana on a growth path. What steps and measures have been so far assimilated from the consultation process to stimulate the economy and catapult us into becoming a progressive country? Targets and benchmarks would have helped to further justify these salary increases. I do not mind paying people fair wages, but they need to deliver.
Finally, comments coming from the opposition on this and other issues, continue to sound ludicrous given their historical transgressions post-Cheddi Jagan’s death in 1997. It reminds the public of the PNC in opposition post-1992 and onwards, when no one took them seriously. Sadly, the PPP has embarked on a PNC-like path with the likes of Irfaan Ali, Jennifer Westford, Bharrat Jagdeo, Odinga Lumumba, Bheri Ramsaran, Anil Nandlall, Pauline Sukhai, Neil Kumar, Clement Rohee, Ganga Persaud and Gail Teixeira, to name a few, only bringing baggage to the table. The coalition government will pay them scant regard as the PPP and the country did to the PNC back then. Their only chance of staying relevant and perhaps gaining support is trying to find new blood with refreshing and constructive approaches to win over people. The difference this time around from 1992 is that Granger has opened the door of engagement. The PPP’s tradition and habit of sitting on the fence and throwing talk will not gain momentum in such an open door environment, and its chance of tempering any APNU+AFC’s excesses becomes significantly lowered because of its tainted shadow ministers, more so when public comments are aired at press conferences.
Yours faithfully,
Latchman Singh
