$1 allocation to ERC means closure ...Staffers can’t receive salaries - Edghill

$1 allocation to ERC means closure …Staffers can’t receive salaries – Edghill

May 30, 2012 News

Junior Finance Minister and former Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), Juan Edghill, yesterday informed members of the media that due to recent budget cuts made in Parliament, the ERC which was allocated $1, is unable to function. Edghill said that due to those cuts, the ERC has been brought to a standstill, which will eventually lead to its closure.
Apart from that, he said that to date, staffers are yet to receive a salary.
According to Edghill, the ERC is an independent entity which is unable to self-generate funds. All funds given to the ERC, he noted, comes from taxpayers, thus with the recent cuts, it is impossible to pay workers.
During the half-hour long press conference, the Minister touched on at least three issues which he said was plaguing the organization.
He spoke on what he called rumours and said he wanted to clear the air about the facts of the ERC. Edghill said that contrary to what some media entities have been reporting and are also quoting from members of the opposition – on talks about the re-commissioning of ERC members – it is only the parliament that can determine such acts.
He elaborated on the subject, saying that it has been put out by media personnel that members of the opposition, specifically A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s David Granger, have stated that the money billed for the ERC will be restored to the organization if the President would hold talks with the APNU head about the re-commissioning of the organization’s members.
Edghill sought to clarify that by the constitution, neither Granger nor the President has the power to put any money back into the ERC. He instead asserted that it was the members of Parliament who held that power. Edghill went on to say that according to the law, there must be a two-thirds vote in the House which would determine the direction of the ERC. In that light, Edghill said he wanted to debunk the myth that presumes that the two leading political figures would be able to restore funds to the ERC.
“The recommissioning of members is determined by parliament and they must vote,” Edghill emphasised.
The second contention of the Junior Minister related to the amount of money set aside by the Government – which would have seen $99.4M being pumped into the ERC. Edghill pointed out that the opposition claimed that the sum was too hefty, in the sense that something unscrupulous was afoot.
The Minister, however, discarded any suspicions and alluded to previous budget sums set aside for the organization. He pointed out that last year $90M was allocated to the ERC and in 2006, in excess of $100M was utilized by the organization.
Edghill said that there are about 23 staff members at the ERC, but that number, he said, could easily grow to 70 or 80 persons since there could be part-time workers who are hired to monitor political matters. He added that those persons are scheduled to monitor all 10 Regions.
Edghill reasoned that the budgeted sum for the ERC is no unusual amount.
In concluding, Edghill touched on the topic of ERC workers going to opposition leaders and “begging for their jobs and begging for money to be released to the ERC.”
Edghill said that he is aware that staffers of the organization had met with opposition leaders of both APNU and the AFC. That, he noted, was not sanctioned. He attributed the actions of the workers to the threat they faced as it related to their jobs. He said persons were fearful and felt insecure.
The former ERC chairman even mentioned that were he a member of either of the opposition parties, he would have never facilitated talks with the ERC staffers, since the entity is an independent one. He condemned the actions of the opposition leaders and said that not only have their parties crippled the ERC, but they had also compromised the situation.
Edghill stated that there is nothing the Minister of Finance could do to provide money for the organization. He reiterated that parliament would have to approve this.
Edghill opined that the opposition has plotted for the Government to say to ERC workers “go home because we have no money to pay you.” But he said it was the opposition to be blamed for persons not being paid.

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$1 allocation to ERC means closure …Staffers can’t receive salaries – Edghill

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