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Dear Editor,
When A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition took office in 2015. They were committed to building a Good Life for All Guyanese, which was their campaign slogan. This commitment came with the minimum wage overall increase of 77 percent. They are so many things the coalition government felt short in but this was one promise they did not broke and I have to give them props for that.
In every election campaign, political parties make promises to Guyanese and some of those are empty promises with no tangible evidence of pulling through on them. In the last elections held in 2020, all political parties to me, made some outrageous promises that may seem reachable but undoubtedly were to gain political points.
It Is important to note that the issue of a well-deserved increase in wages and salaries for public servants, who, under the PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/Civic) administration, were financially impoverished and subjected to poor working conditions are still feature issues to this day for the current PPP/C administration. I remember back in November of 2019 when the then APNU+AFC Government revealed that the minimum wage for public servants would be increased to $70,000 from $64,220 per month. Persons in that category received $69,336 in December of 2020, a nine percent increase from then wages which was also extended to sweeper-cleaners in the public education system.
Other public servants who were earning between $100,000 and under $1 million would have received an 8.5 percent increase; and those earning less than $100,000 would have received a nine percent increase in their salaries.
The Guyana 2020 elections campaign were filled with a lot of promises and it is evident that this current PPP/C government has shy away from those promises. I have a moral responsibility to speak out about the painting of state properties in any party colors. The repainting of the statehouse in duck egg green by the Granger administration in 2017 breached the National Trust Act that makes provision for the preservation of monuments, sites, places and objects of historic interest or national importance. The PPP/C administration after entering office in 2020 first act was to have the building repainted again under the guise of the Private Sector Commission.
I am quite saddened at the fact that only two months in office at the time the PPP/C government saw that as immediate business to attend to and not honor their long haul promises like the 50% pay increase to public servants although President Ali revealed that more than 23 per cent in across-the-board salary increases have been paid out to public servants since 2020. The new People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government had set aside some $95 million in the 2020 budget to buy new vehicles for top officials of the government inclusive of the President, Prime Minister, and Vice President. That development led to outrage from all sectors of society some of which are our front line workers(nurses).
Our front line workers particularly medical professionals who have been battling the COVID 19 pandemic putting their lives at risk and this government has done nothing to appreciate the efforts of our nurses and doctors but to saw it fit to have painted a building that has been recently repaired and repainted which was not bad but wasn’t an immediate necessity to do so since it’s not a life and death situation. Those nurses were out there risking their lives for us and they didn’t had risk allowance, the protection they need but yet we have a government that considered the security for themselves by setting aside monies in the 2020 budget a troubling $95 million for vehicles.
In my view, the governments in the last decade have provided a better life for all Ministers, Presidents, and Past Presidents. If I can recall it was Former President Jagdeo who caused the law governing Presidential pensions to be changed to 7/8 of the salary of the current President, instead of 7/8 of the salary of the President at the time he demits office. It was also the coalition government who while in opposition, had heavily criticized what they termed “fat cats” with “upper salaries but within months of entering office Cabinet Ministers saw salary increases of 50% but public servants were given a small salary hike after having been promised a “significant” increase by the APNU+AFC government.
On the other hand, it is important to note that it took APNU/AFC about 3 years to move the minimum wage from $39,540 to $60000. A total of $21000 in 3-5 years.
APNU/AFC promised a significant salary increases for public servants and did deliver a 26.4% increase for the lowest paid public servants in 2015 from a budget of $221B, and a 77% increase overall in their five years term.
That package included a reduction of income tax from 30% to 28% and by 2019 the income tax threshold was increased to $780k, from which thousands of public servants benefitted by not having to pay income tax.
We must give them credit because all this was done with limited revenue available.
Those budgets ranged from $221B in 2015 to $300.7B in 2019.
However, it took the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration nine (9) years to move the minimum wage from $26,070 in 2006 to $39,570 in 2015
A total of $13000 In 9 years.
The “One Guyana” slogan is no different from the “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Guyanese have been buying into these empty promises for far too long from the PPP/C that only look to fill their pockets and make their friends and family richer. It is my great belief that we ought to hold these servants that we elect to the public office responsible to run the affairs of our beloved country in a better manner that will positively affect us and our country so that we can move forward as they say the Dubai of the Caribbean.
It is our civil duty to stand up and speak up for what’s right and what’s wrong but more empathetically on the wrongdoings of these officials who were elected by us the people of Guyana.
As an Executive member of the Alliance for Change I believe that we were and is still committed to good governance and to ensuring that all Guyanese can enjoy the good life because Better Must Come.
Yours truly,
Onix A. Duncan
Chairman E.C.D RMC / National Executive Member
Alliance For Change
