PPP/C parliamentarians to decide on use of salary increase funds

TIMES INT'L

A special bank account now holds cash that was deducted from several Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) salaries since all parliamentarians were given an increase in 2015.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has confirmed that MPs of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) have held on to their promise of contributing their increases to a fund.
However, Jagdeo said that a decision was still to be taken on how the money that was accumulated over the last two years would be utilised and for what purpose.
“It’s a requirement that I know our MPs are deducting the money and sending it to that bank account…we have not decided as yet (what we’re going to do), but not a cent has been spent,” he stated.
It is unclear how much money has been saved thus far and to which bank the monies are being saved.
Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira also told the media that MPs were complying and have been donating their increases to the fund that had been set up by the Party for that special purpose.
“Each MP has a standing order and so the money is automatically deducted from our salaries and deposited into the bank account,” she explained.
Four months after taking up office, the Government had moved to increase the salaries of MPs by as much as 50 per cent in some instances. Jagdeo had, however, stated publicly that the PPP/C parliamentarians would not be accepting the increase in their salaries.
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 would then be donated to charity.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan had defended the increase, stating that it catered for the increased ministerial workload and to the posts of Vice Presidents.
The Finance Minister insisted that the salary increases were necessary and justifiable.

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