The Tribune

A $6,000 RAISE for state ministers – dismissed as nothing more than a “clerical error” by the cash strapped government in 2012 – was nevertheless granted, according to the 2013/14 budget documents.

In June of last year, Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis assured the public that a budget item raising the pay for junior ministers from $60,000 to $66,000 was just a mistake and would be corrected before the start of the fiscal year.

But now, a year on, the salary for state ministers for 2012/2013 was again listed as $66,000. The Tribune was unable to contact Mr Halkitis for clarification on whether this was yet another clerical error.

The new budget also says the salary for state ministers will go back to $60,000 for the next fiscal year.

Commenting on the numbers, news pundit and Tribune columnist Sharon Turner said that based on the budget tabled last week, “the law was broken by the government last year, because the salary of MPs, senators and ministers cannot be legally altered/raised without a resolution being tabled in parliament that it is passed by the parliament.

“No such resolution was brought, and indeed the government claimed it was just a ‘mistake’ anyway in every single ministry that had state ministers, and that it never planned to raise anything.”

Explaining the error last year, Mr Halkitis told the House of Assembly: “Salaries of the current ministers of state will remain at $60,000 and at the appropriate time in this debate the necessary amendments will be made to the bill to reflect the $60,000 for ministers of state. No minister of state has been paid at the level of $66,000.”