APNU/AFC MP earned $200,000 stipend as “adviser” – Local Govt Minister

– while still earning salary as MP; Minister says no work to show for it

Minister of Local Government Nigel Dharamlall has revealed that since coming to office, he has found that a former parliamentarian was employed at his Ministry earning over $200,000 as an “advisor”, but there is no evidence he has ever submitted any advice.

In a social media post, Dharamlall revealed that former Member of Parliament (MP) Jermaine Figueira of A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) was earning a monthly stipend of over $200,000 per month.
It is understood that Figueira was one of an army of advisers and party members ‘working’ for former Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan. But according to Dharamlall “I have not seen a single word of advice documented anywhere.”
Moreover, Dharamlall pointed out that Figueira would have been earning a salary as an MP, up to the time the 11th Parliament was dissolved on December 30, 2019. The Minister also said that Figueira was a secondary school teacher in Wismar, Linden (Region 10).

This publication had reported earlier this week that Dharamlall’s predecessor as Minister, Ronald Bulkan had paid over $800 million to 56 staffers for doing absolutely no work during his five-year term in office
The new Minister made the revelation at a press conference on Monday morning where he sought to lay out the immediate plans for his Ministry. Dharamlall related that the discovery of Bulkan’s mismanagement of taxpayers’ monies was discovered when he along with Junior Minister Anand Persaud conducted a situational assessment of the Ministry.
He found that there were 23 staff members in Bulkan’s Secretariat earning a total of $7,730,000 per month. The Minister noted that those persons are all active members of the APNU/AFC coalition.
“From our record in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, we have been unable to verify and validate the performance of these staff because there is no record of their work. There is no documentation of their work and since we took office there has been no presence of their person in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development,” Dharamlall told reporters.
In providing a breakdown of the beneficiaries of Bulkan’s mismanagement, Dharamlall explained that long-time PNC member and former Councillor at the Georgetown Municipality, Oscar Clarke served as “Special Ministerial Advisor on Local Government” and he was being paid $418,674 per month along with a non-taxable duty allowance of $25,000 and $10,000 telephone allowance. Since the new Minister assumed office on Wednesday last, he noted that Clarke has not turned up to work.
Further investigations have also revealed that Clarke would usually show up for a total of 1.5 days per week back when Bulkan was the Minister in charge. However, the largesse did not stop with Clarke.
Rupert Hopkinson, also listed as a special ministerial advisor, earns $376, 807 per month, $70,000 in non-taxable and a telephone allowance of $10,000. Carmichael Thorne and Samuel Parris also served as ministerial advisors with Thorne earning $488,250 plus 30,000 in non-taxable allowance and telephone and travelling allowance of $20,000. Thorne’s salary and perks amount to just under $540,000 per month for doing absolutely no work, according to Dharamlall.