Letter of the Day | MPs salary hike is out of sync with reality
Published:Friday | May 19, 2023 | 12:18 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
While most would agree that current salaries paid to politicians are below par, the level of increases announced recently by Minster of Finance Nigel Clarke, as much as 200 per cent, was a lot to absorb in one sitting. I think they should’ve spread the increases over five years. If we are going to pay salaries based on private sector norm, politicians including the prime minister and leader of Opposition should be held to similar standards in terms of performance and accountability. If calculated in US dollars the salaries paid seem reasonable, but most Jamaicans don’t earn US dollars.
Most ministers are under-performing and underachieving; many lack vision, energy, strategic skills and general competence. Some are inexperienced, while others should’ve retired years ago, but continue to cling to the perks and privileges which come with the job. One minister is crude and repulsive, yet he is allowed to sit in Parliament. Salaries for mayors and parish councillors will also be increased by 100 per cent; they must also be held accountable. The increases are the biggest in decades and will cost some 1.7 billion dollars. Where did government find the funds? Imagine if 50 per cent of these funds were invested to improve services and resources in public hospitals.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness is now struggling in the polls; it wasn’t long ago he said that he had passed the stage of needing to win political popularity and favour. At the same time he was asking the electorate not to abandon the Jamaica Labour Party. He is no doubt securing his personal legacy financially, we expect that the backlash from these increases won’t boost his ratings. More than 50 per cent of Jamaicans live below the poverty line in slums, and many are victim of violent crimes, which are out of control; the massive salary increases seem out of sync with reality and what is considered moral and reasonable.
The country is pauperised and indebted; public service and infrastructure are underfunded and decaying, literally crumbling; wait times in some agencies and tax offices for basic services is unacceptable due to archaic systems and inefficient processes. We’ve seen nurses, police, teachers, firemen doctors bare their souls fighting for a decent increase to their salaries as little as five to 10 per cent. When public-sector workers and others demand more, they are labelled ‘greedy’. Parliamentarians can award themselves massive increases and they appear puzzled by the level of distrust and disdain they get from the public. Now is the time to hold them fully accountable. They should be ‘let go’, if they are not performing.
P CHIN