Green’s pension a pure disrespect to taxpayers

Dear Editor,
The deterioration of the public treasury is fast in action as the APNU/AFC Government races to reward friends and family in a piling list already too long to handle.
The intended legislation, as reported by a local online news agency to utilise annually over million of our taxpayers’ dollars to reward Hamilton Green with a pension, other than what he already receives from Parliament, is pure disrespect to public servants and Guyanese at large.
The David Granger-led Administration is in the habit of taking us for granted with its growing and continuous scandals, shifting promises, lack of transparency and accountability, among the many other indictments since coming to office in May 2015.
It is obvious that his government cares little or less about public perception, our concerns and opinions as it seeks to add to its already discredited record, a Bill that contradicts its position of having the right priorities, worse yet, in a slumbering economic environment where people are increasingly affected by hardships.
One would have thought that after receiving such stinging criticisms over the huge increases in the salaries, benefits and allowances of the President, Vice Presidents, Prime Minister and Ministers, the government would have avoided the missteps of this distasteful choreography to enrich its friends and family.
Perhaps it comes as no surprise to many that the government has chosen this path despite its pre-election promise to be lean, clean and mean.
It should not hurt to have this Bill reversed and save the government from the embarrassment that stares it ahead, especially since its impending enactment of this Bill is of absolutely no necessity. The Minister of Finance, like so many of us, experiencing the daily cries of a limping economy, should be extremely careful about contributing to an already volatile situation.

Yours truly,
Dave Martindale