Pay Hike or Pay Back?

Oct 21, 2015 Letters

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Dear Editor,
We are witnessing one of the most sordid and anarchic travesty in the evolution of this new era in our history. An impoverished society plagiarized by strings of socio-economic downfalls and gradually protruding a national outbreak of reverse forms of development, is now being subjected to the most unlegislated decision to provide super exorbitant increments for their Ministers .
It was only a week ago in my other article published elsewhere, I elucidated on the point to the people of Guyana that it’s a clear cut indication that these politicians only seem to care about themselves.
I heard an insalubrious, puerile and somewhat poor defense when it was being question at a state press conference. I sat and watch in consternation and compunction that this ludicrous increment is justifiable since it eschews vitiative practices, I find this excessively humorous for in my view this is daylight corruption, I vividly recalled that each expenditure or legislative decision tabled must have parliamentary approval I am not aware if this was done, forgave me if am not AWARE of it.
Then if the latter is true doesn’t it validate or can be concluded that it is corruption? Corruption as elucidated in the Oxford dictionary states that the word is “the misuse of public power by an elected politician/servant for private gain” if one is to relate the theory and the practical it would be conducive to note one great economist/philosopher stated that, “from each according to their ability to each according to their work”
I don’t wish to lecture but it’s obviously professional and gives validity to my synopsis, the explanation granted here was that one must be paid according to their work and one must be employed according to his ability hence one must acknowledge that the legislators of this economy seem to not respect the law; how can this statesman actually justify an engineer working with the Government for over 20 years and earns $3M per annum after having started from $1.1M(35% increase) per annum and the Prime Minister working for less than year enjoys a whopping $20M per annum salary almost 50% increase in less than 6 months? I find this reprehensible and to the fact to even listen to the legal personnel within the state giving advocacy to this preposterous claim.
This individual seems to be oblivious that in opposition they were challenging administrative staff that were hardworking and honest and were earning less than $3M a year with no other benefits. Interestingly also a statesman who is perceived to be an individual who supposed to know better since the financial aspects of governance mainly channels through their portfolio, claims that the workload has increased tremendously; I find this humorous.
Even a country like Trinidad and Tobago or Barbados does not have this amount of State Ministries and they have a far greater population, Guyana with approximately a mere 779,000 habitants (Census) and these countries with almost three) to four) times greater economic strength (GDP per capita) as well as population than Guyana cannot in anyway calibrate those salary scales for their ministers to this stupendously high level of income and allowances.
This individual actually has the audacity to pinpoint that workload has increased? Well I think it’s more like the rewards has increased, even if he is to validate that the work load has increased, then they all should be fired. Besides what’s the purpose of having intact this amount of Ministries with less population and the workload still increases? Does this make any sense?  Let’s particularized some specific designations;
Crime wave, concomitantly with the cost of living has significantly increased and no arms recuperated in the Amnesty Exercise is affiliated to the crime wave this far hence this provides pellucid evidence that the potential of alleviating the crime wave and horrendous atmosphere for public citizen’s safety is a mere detriment to their own lives. (Stats-Kaieteur News edition-14-10-2015) Of course other ministries are surfaced here including youth empowerment, social cohesion, education, social security, business amongst others if one is to be more profound.
For the first time in History, Guyana has been subjected to international border controversies that met international intervention; this was address in another article that would have been published earlier. I can detail more specificity with respect to the issue but it may subjugate too much of your column and explain to this very individual how their claim of justification seems to be that of a schoolboy rumination. Why increase the salary when the production output has diminished? Is this the new reverse development strategy?
Dr. A. J. Lopuis, a retired professor presented an investigation into the economic collapse of the African continent (www.africaneconomy.com ) and incredibly in his doctrine through the utilisation of several statistical techniques and methodologies interpreted the scenarios and publish them in the archives of the University of Tanzania.
In his detailed manuscript Dr. Lopuis found that “abuse of power” was the principal element that confiscated the economy and the second most important was corruption. In either scenario he eloquently detailed the transition mechanisms to support his investigation. He outline that the country’s leaders were converting state coffers into their own and were  pampering themselves with exorbitant salaries and allowances at the expense of the country’s poverty, he went on to detail how the corruption was facilitated and how it impacted the country’s streamline of poverty.
I would like for all these cabinet members to walk into their offices summon their industrious Staff and ask them their salaries? and after hearing it from the staff, do the same by informing them of their new salaries and what the word “CHANGE” meant in the Manifesto.
G. Phillips
Retired Public Servant

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