NIA wants more transparency with politicians’ salary hike
National Integrity Action (NIA) has called for details to be made public of the New Equitable Rational Public Sector Compensation System referred to by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in justifying salary hikes for some politicians.
The entity also asserted that the timing of the implementation of the increases “remains improper”. NIA noted that while Holness has decided not to accept the increase for the post of prime minister, the increase will still be applied to the other members of the cabinet and to existing members of parliament.
“This is still difficult to justify, given the absence of current job descriptions and accountability as well as an appraisal mechanism. We go further to say the recipients of the increased salaries, like their public service counterparts, should have been appraised before the increases were granted,” the NIA said. The entity then reaffirmed its call for “timetables for completion and application, with public consultation where appropriate, of the Accountability Framework, in particular the code of conduct for members of parliament”.
“Parliamentarians should be appraised upon the implementation of these mechanisms, so that the public can assess their performance. Accordingly, we propose that the 2024 increases for ministers be suspended until the appraisals have been undertaken. We suggest that the prime minister be excluded from the proposed salary increases until the completion and institution of the Accountability Framework, including the performance indicators and the schematics for the institution of sanctions and penalties,” the NIA said.
Noting the claim that the compensation review was “objective and scientifically based”, the NIA also called on the Government to immediately disclose the criteria used by the consultants to evaluate and place cabinet ministers at the pinnacle of the public sector scale.
“We also wish to know the basis for rejecting the 2003 Clarke Committee recommendation to delink the salary of ministers from that of permanent secretaries. NIA renews its support for the recommendation of the Clarke Committee that an Independent Permanent Salaries Review Committee be appointed for periodic review of ministerial salaries along the lines of that applied to the review of compensation for judges,” the entity said.