Bharrat Jagdeo’s pension still to be effected

Apr 22, 2012 News

Pension and allowances voted on for former President Bharrat Jagdeo are yet to be effected.
This is according to the Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh, who this past week informed the House that “the option to make regulations has not been exercised to date.”
He was at the time responding to a question posed by A Partnership for National Unity’s point man on finances, Carl Greenidge who had posed the query for a written reply by the Finance Minister.
Greenidge asked if the Minister would inform the House “whether he has presented to the National Assembly the regulations under which the provisions of the ‘Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act of 2009 are to be given effect, if so, when was this done?”
APNU’s executive member, Desmond Trotman, filed a writ in the High Court, last December, to reverse the Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act 2009.
The affidavit was drawn by Attorney-At-Law, Christopher Ram, on behalf of Trotman.
The Attorney General was sued as the representative of the State of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
The writ is seeking a declaration that the Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act 2009 which purports to amend Article 181 (2) of the Constitution without complying with the special legislative procedure laid down by Article 164 of the Constitution is unconstitutional, null and void.
The Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act was passed in the National Assembly during the Ninth Parliament on April 30, 2009. It was assented to by the then President Bharrat Jagdeo in May 2009.
The writ asserted that sections of the Act violate Article 181 (2) of the Constitution in that they fall outside the scope, meaning and intendment of a pension and gratuity granted by the said article.
According to Article 181 (2) of the Constitution, “A person who has held the Office of President shall receive such pension or, upon the expiration of his term of office, such gratuity as may be prescribed by Parliament. Any such pension or gratuity shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund.”
Section 2 of the Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act 2009 provides several benefits for every person who having held the Office of the President and ceased to hold that office by virtue of the provisions of Article 92 of the Constitution or otherwise, during the remainder of his lifetime.
Some of the benefits highlighted in the writ are services of personal and household staff including an attendant and a gardener; provision of vehicles owned and maintained by the State; an annual vacation allowance equivalent to the cost of two first class return airfares provided on the same basis as that granted to serving members of the Judiciary; and a tax exemption status identical to that enjoyed by a serving President.
These regulations referred to are the ones that Greenidge had sought clarification on.

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Bharrat Jagdeo’s pension still to be effected

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