Dear Editor,
Sometime in 2015 when the APNU+AFC government ascended to office they gave ministers and parliamentarian a huge salary increase. This increase caused a huge uproar from the then opposition PPP/C, civil society and many Guyanese. A motion was moved in parliament by the PPP/C requesting that the salary increases be revoked via the annulment of the two orders which brought them into being but this was voted down by the then APNU+AFC coalition government parliamentarians. The then opposition PPP/C even announced that their Members of Parliament would not be accepting the salary increases as approved by the government. Many civil society groups also criticized the salary increase at the time.
Now that the PPP/C is in government and has a majority in parliament they can easily move a motion to revoke that order that gave rise to that salary increase or they can move a motion to cut the salary of government ministers and Parliamentarians and bring it back to its original position before the increase. Why haven’t they done that yet? They have reversed most of the tax hikes that APNU+AFC had imposed during the time in government but they haven’t touched the case of the salary increase to parliamentarians and ministers.
Why are the civil society groups that had objected to the increase in the first place not asking the PPP/C government to keep its promise of reversing the salary increase? We in Guyana have a very short memory and as such politicians are not held accountable to their words and they are able to make empty promises to the people without any consequences. Keep your word Mr. Jagdeo and reverse the salary increase.
Respectfully,
Shawn Sam
