Teixeira’s salary higher than HPS Luncheon’s

Apr 16, 2014 News

Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira, is the highest paid contract worker at the Office of the President (OP). A Chief Parliamentary Whip also for the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic in Parliament, Teixeira’s $1M pay is more than the $983,000 grossed monthly by Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon.

Presidential Advisor, Gail Teixeira

Luncheon has been ill for several months now, with Teixeira reportedly performing some of his functions.
The disclosures were made yesterday as the 2014 estimates of the Office of the President came under consideration in the National Assembly.
The Opposition, over recent years, has been scrutinizing the number of contract workers in the public service. The focus has been even more at the President’s office, with accusations that several persons close to the administration were benefitting from high-paying jobs.
The Opposition has also been claiming that contract jobs have been a deliberate ploy by the administration to weaken the public service system, and by extension, its unions.
However, Government has insisted that public servants are being given a choice whether to be contracted workers or be placed under the traditional public service system.
Under the budget of OP, there are 176 contract workers in the various programmes.
Meanwhile, during the consideration of the $6B budget for OP, it was also disclosed that $112M was set aside for the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI).
In late February, almost 34 years after Dr. Rodney was killed, Government announced that a team of international jurists has been selected to probe the incident.
Chairing the CoI is Barbadian Queen’s Counsel, Sir Richard Cheltenham, with the other members being Guyana-born, Trinidad-based Senior Counsel, Seenauth Jairam and Jamaican Queen’s Counsel, Jacqueline Samuels-Brown.
Shortly after the ceremony at the Office of the President, Head of State Donald Ramotar said that the Rodney family has been petitioning him to bring closure to the incident by ordering an independent inquiry. It is expected that in addition to paying the Commissioners, the $112M will help to fund the operations of the secretariat that has been established.
Almost 100 witnesses are likely to be called. Statements have already been taken. The Commission will be sitting in two-week intervals until the inquiry is completed, with the sessions open to the public. Permission for live coverage has not been ruled out, with the necessary details being examined.

Dr. Roger Luncheon

Dr. Rodney was killed on June 13, 1980, when a bomb exploded in a car in which he was an occupant. He was 38 years old at the time.
His brother, Donald Rodney, who suffered injuries during the explosion, alleged that a former GDF electronics expert, Sergeant Gregory Smith, had given the politician the bomb that killed him.
It was alleged that Smith planted the bomb in a walkie-talkie that blew up on Rodney’s pelvic region while he was on John Street, Werk-en-Rust, between Hadfield and Bent Streets, less than 100 metres from the Camp Street Prison.
Rodney’s party, the Working People Alliance, has already indicated that it was not happy at the terms of reference for the commission and would not be participating in the process.