Readers’ reactions

Nigel Clarke | Leadership salaries in public service

“A most sober contribution/ explanation. Many politicians retire and live in destitution, after giving their best years to public service. That sorry scenario should be alleviated now. Jamaica’s public service is probably now the highest paid in the Caribbean. A magnet for new talent.”

– @Zemi66

“It’s not just unprecedented in Jamaica’s history, it is also unprecedented in any stable Western liberal democracy. But unprecedented in this case is wholly negative because Jamaica is one of the poorest countries on earth. This makes the increases undemocratic & absurd. Disgrace.”

– @BinnyJetsYaad

“Stop trying to gaslight us! Everything else got a “no, there’s no money”, but magically, there are funds now.”

– @tammy2det

“Does he think a change of venue from Parliament to newspaper will result in a change in ire towards the astronomical increases? Reiterating the same point makes it no less unacceptable. This talk about destitution is just to court symptoms. #YuhRong.”

– @JahCess

“The proof is in the pudding. I am 31 and I’ve seen nothing in my lifetime to justify paying any politician these new salaries. The political stewardship of this country post-Independence is disgraceful, and, frankly, at times disgusting. We are NOT paying those sums @NigelClarkeJa.”

– @IamDAnderson1

“Bravo, minister. This decision holds immense potential to revolutionise the culture of poor performance and corruption that has long plagued our governance.”

– @silentmajorityover40

By that logic, we should therefore increase the salaries of all civil servants by at least a comparable amount. We also need the best talents in the police force, the public hospitals, teachers and legal officers.”

– @kevinssimmonds

“I want to know how did he arrive at that figure on the salary scale while Jamaica has one of the lowest GDP in the Caribbean. Other Caribbean countries are producing more and their leaders [are] making less, so we want to know if tax a go raise and where [is] the money coming from, ‘cause tourism alone can’t produce that.”

– @edkool78

“A great leader is one that is able to reflect and is willing to take critical feedback. Listen to the voice of the people! Jamaica doesn’t need one more ‘brilliant’ leader. We have them. We need servant leaders who have compassion on the suffering of the working class and poor. As our anthem says “Grant us wisdom lest we perish.”

– @nickellbailey