Some PPP/C MPs hold on to salary increase

Nov 12, 2017 News

It appears that not all the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) 32 Members of Parliament (MPs) are following an internal party directive to donate salary increases, which were made available for all parliamentarians by the coalition Government in September 2015.
Two years on, the party’s Parliamentary Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, was pressed by Kaieteur News for details about the fund and whether all the MPs were actually donating their increases.
“Our MPs are complying,” Teixeira initially told Kaieteur News.
She added, “Each MP has a standing order and so the money is automatically deducted from our salaries and deposited into the bank account.”
Asked specifically if all the MPs were complying, Teixeira replied, “I can’t say all, but I am saying that we have a fund and our MPs are contributing towards that.”
Four months after taking up office, the coalition Government set about to increase the salaries of Parliamentarians by as much as 50 percent in some instances. Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, stated publicly that they will not be accepting the increase in their salaries.

Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira

Once it was made clear that the Parliament Office could not withhold the payments and would make the monies payable, the PPP/C later indicated that the funds will be then be donated to charity.
“It’s a requirement that I know our MPs are deducting the money and sending it to that bank account,” Jagdeo said on Wednesday.
Teixeira maintained that MPs deductions are made through the Parliament Office and are deposited directly to the bank. Asked if she could recall the accumulative amount of the account, Teixeira noted that she could not recall and that they haven’t touched the money.
“We are waiting for the money to accumulate,” Teixeira stated. The PPP/C is still to decide which charity it will donate the funds to.
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan had, in explaining the rationale behind the increase, spoken to resolving the anomalies that existed, catering for the increased ministerial workload and catering to the posts of Vice Presidents.
The Finance Minister insisted that the salary increases were necessary and justifiable.

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