The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

FNM Senator Elsworth Johnson yesterday accused Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis of shifting his position on parliamentary pay, invoking Mr Davis’ 2017 criticism of proposed salary increases.

Mr Johnson raised the issue during the Senate’s debate on a resolution thanking the Governor General for reading the Speech from the Throne.

The Davis administration has reportedly drafted an amendment to the Act, while Mr Davis has defended a salary and allowance review for parliamentarians as long overdue and questioned whether it is right for Bahamian politicians to be paid what they are when compared with regional salary scales.

Mr Johnson sought to contrast that position with comments Mr Davis made in 2017, when he was opposition leader, after then Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis suggested MPs struggled to live on their salaries.

Mr Davis said at the time that Dr Minnis should “put himself in the shoes of the thousands of Bahamians who live from hand to mouth”.

Mr Johnson was cut short before fully developing his argument, but signalled the opposition’s objection to any proposed increase at this time.

FNM Senator Rick Fox backed Mr Johnson’s effort to raise the issue, arguing that the cost of living was central to the Speech from the Throne and that the timing of the salary discussion was concerning.

“I think any statements made about raising the level of cost of living support for Bahamian people, I think we all in here are Bahamian and therefore the debate, to your point Senator Rahming, albeit not presented yet to the floor is still now a part of public articles that we’re allowed to bring to this floor,” Mr Fox said. “As we ran previously a few months back, on fighting for the cost of living, fighting for a wage, as we were discussing a minimum wage that fits the cost of living and supports the Bahamian people. I think the timing of this conversation is what is most concerning, because it does not put the Bahamian people first, but some Bahamian people first and their concern with many of us here sitting is that we always come first.”

Mr Fox acknowledged that Bahamian parliamentarians are paid at “the bottom of the scale”, but said the timing of the discussion risked suggesting that politicians were putting themselves ahead of ordinary Bahamians.

Attorney General Wayne Munroe challenged Mr Fox’s comments as inaccurate, arguing that public servants had already received salary increases while parliamentarians had not.

“One may remember the argument when the executive management got their pay increase and it was retroactive, and when it happened for the lower members who were always getting pay increases, they complained that it wasn’t retroactive,” Mr Munroe said. “A fact seldom known is that the secretary to the cabinet is paid more than the prime minister. My permanent secretary is paid more than me. The lawyers in the Office of the Attorney General are paid more than the Attorney General, so that’s the context.”

Mr Munroe said the legislation is being drafted in his office and has not yet been released for consultation. He said the details of the proposal are not settled.

Mrs Adderley ultimately ruled that the proposed salary review was outside the scope of the Speech from the Throne, saying no section of the address dealt with increasing parliamentarians’ salaries and that no legislation had been brought before Parliament.

“As far as I am aware, I have not been pointed to a section or a paragraph in the Speech from the Throne that deals with the increase of salaries for parliamentarians,” Mrs Adderley said. “I think that we’ve already gone sufficiently down this road without a mandate to do so.”