Min. Dharamlall reveals APNU+AFC hypocrisy on salary increases
The APNU+AFC was today called out on its hypocrisy concerning an announcement of a specific salary increase for public servants in the 2021 Budget.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Hon. Nigel Dharamlall in his contribution to the Budget debate in the National Assembly noted that before President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali became Head of State, he had posed a question about public servants’ salary increases to then Finance Minister Winston Jordan during the 11th Parliament.
Mr. Jordan had responded that it would be presumptuous to announce a particular percentage increase before negotiations with workers’ union representatives.
Minister Dharamlall said the PPP/C Government has employed this approach and it is duplicitous of the Opposition to now suggest that the Administration does not care for public servants.
“It is the same thing that Dr. Ashni Singh and everyone has been saying in this House in the last few days. The very approach they are speaking out against now, their own approach, that we have been using to deal with this issue,” Minister Dharamlall said.
Only one week ago, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Hon. Dr. Ashni Singh was forced to address this assertion.
During his guest appearance on NCN’s “The Parliamentary Agenda,” the Minister had said it was irresponsible for anyone to suggest that the Government did not make provisions in its 2021 fiscal package for public servants.
“It was a well-established fact that Budget 2021 catered for the revision of wages and salaries,” Dr. Singh had said.
Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo was the first to debunk the Opposition claim in a post on his Facebook page, noting that there was an allocation of $10 billion in the budget for “revision of wages and salaries.”
“A huge part of that sum will go towards salary increases for public sector workers,” Dr. Jagdeo stated.
The Finance Minister presented the 2021 National Budget to the National Assembly two weeks ago under the theme, “A Path to Recovery, Economic Dynamism and Resilience.”