PM Holness again defends pay hike for political directorate

 

Prime Minister Andrew Holness is again defending the massive pay increases granted to Government Ministers and Members of Parliament.

 

The controversial increases, which came into effect last month, have caused much public debate with calls for a rollback.

 

But speaking at a Jamaica Labour Party meeting in South East Clarendon last evening, the JLP Leader again argued that the new wages will attract better talent to the political system.

 

He added that ministers and parliamentarians are being unfairly criticised for the pay increase.

 

"A lot of people believe that the job of an MP and the job of a minister is just to stand up in front of a microphone and say 'Shower!' or to go into the constituency and sit and drink. There are those who believe that ministers don't do anything other than go in their office and give directions to the permanent secretary. That's not quite the case. Ministerial work is very involved. Ministerial work requires certain competences, and what we are doing in the Labour Party is ensuring that our team gets the exposure at all levels," Mr. Holness stressed. 

 

The Prime Minister, who recently introduced a performance criteria for the political directorate, has called for constituents to demand more accountability from their political representatives.

 

"It is you who hold us to account. And what does it mean to be held to account? It means that the people who you give the authority must come to you and report to you how we have used the authority. That's the beginning of accountability," he asserted. 

 

Mr. Holness conceded that some people who enter politics do so for the benefits or "as a means of getting a little something", but insisted this is not the case for all politicians, especially those in the JLP. 

 

"The people who are here are representing their communities and they are giving good advice, they are making complaints where necessary and they are holding us to account and bringing us up to date about what is happening all over," he said of constituents in South East Clarendon. 

 

 

The JLP leader said his administration has been making progress in the reform of the country and urged Jamaicans to ignore detractors.

 

In his address to party supporters, Mr. Holness listed the accomplishments of the government, including the new public sector compensation scheme.

 

"We have gone through a process to increase public sector pay and if you follow what you hear on the news and on social media, it's as if people don't get anything," he complained. 

 

"I am not standing here saying that what you get as an increase is what you deserve and that's the only thing. My view is that if I can pay the teachers more, I would pay them more. If I could pay the policemen more, I would pay them more. If I could pay the nurses more, I would pay them more. If I could pay the civil servants more, I would pay them more."

 

Mr. Holness also boasted that he, as Minister of Education in 2008, was the one who advocated in Cabinet for teachers' salaries to be increased to 80 per cent of the market.