Ill-timed and tone-deaf…Advocacy group criticises PM’s $28.6m salary amid public hardship

Advocacy group Stand Up for Jamaica is taking strong issue with the decision of Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness to accept his $28.6 million salary adjustment, arguing that it is tone-deaf and a bad move as Jamaicans continue to face hardships, especially those still recovering from Hurricane Melissa.

Stand Up for Jamaica argued that it is a bad move for the Prime Minister to accept a multimillion-dollar jump in his pay while the Government has imposed new taxes and the minimum wage has moved only marginally.

“There is a profound difference between what is legally permissible and what is morally palatable,” charged the organisation in a statement on Monday.

Emphasising that it understands the Prime Minister is deserving of fair compensation, given the nature of the job, Stand Up for Jamaica said the issue is the optics and the timing amid current realities in society.

“Why would a leader take a massive pay bump while simultaneously asking struggling citizens to pay more [in taxes]? When a Government imposes austerity on the people, it demands a reciprocal display of austerity from its leadership,” it argued.

“By accepting a raise that moves his compensation from $9 million to $28.6 million — an increase larger than most Jamaicans will earn in a lifetime — the Prime Minister has created a situation whereby funds that could have gone toward accelerating the rebuilding of the hurricane-ravaged parts of the country will now have to be reallocated to foot the bill for his compensation,” the organisation asserted.

In a moment of national crisis, a gesture of shared sacrifice would have spoken volumes, Stand Up for Jamaica argued.

“Dr Holness had a choice. He could have waited until the national recovery was further along, until the tax medicine had been swallowed, and until the people felt seen. Instead, he chose to conform to an established emolument during an emergency. In doing so, he has signalled that while Jamaicans must tighten their belts, the Office of the Prime Minister is exempt from the squeeze. That is a bitter pill for a nation still in recovery to swallow,” it charged.

“Is this the best use of scarce resources in a time of national crisis? What does this choice tell us about the Prime Minister's priorities? Does he really value the lives of the suffering masses, or does his own financial gain matter more? Isn't it just plain selfish for the Prime Minister to enrich himself at the expense of so many struggling to make ends meet?” it continued.

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