The Opposition People’s National Party, PNP says the Prime Minister’s move to forego his salary increase, ‘appears insincere and contrived’.
In a media release on Tuesday, the Opposition questioned his authority to remove the Office of the Prime Minister from the salary roll.
More in this report from Robian Williams
The Opposition says the Prime Minister’s action appears disingenuous, as the public was told that the Ministry of Finance had already administratively implemented the new salary rates as of May 15, 2023.
The PNP is also asking if Prime Minister Holness will be compensated at the ministerial level in his capacity as Minister of Economic Growth and Job Creation.
The party is questioning whether the salary increases announced were a Cabinet decision.
The Opposition is calling for the salary increases of ministers and members of parliament to be withdrawn immediately until the outstanding issues affecting other public sector workers are dealt with.
The PNP is also recommending that an independent panel be appointed to review the salaries.
According to them, this strategy will guarantee better equity and a more proportionate and reasonable outcome.
The PNP maintains that its members were never consulted by the government regarding the new salary arrangements.
The party says the lack of consultation is an egregious and arrogant omission by the JLP government.
On the matter of accountability, the Opposition says the measures announced by the Prime Minister fell short of the promises he made during his 2016 election campaign.
According to the PNP, the proposed actions fail to include the passage of an impeachment bill, performance evaluation, and term limits, which were promised to be implemented within the first 100 days in office.
