Former Social Services Minister Delma Thomas has told a sitting of the Lower House of Parliament that several of her colleagues under the 2018-2022 New National Party (NNP) government of Keith Mitchell believed that paying the Pension due to public officers based on a high court ruling could have bankrupt the country.
The St. Andrew’s North-west Member of Parliament made the disclosure Monday in her response to the 2024 Budget that was presented one week earlier by the Minister of Finance, Dennis Cornwall.
Thomas who crossed the floor earlier in the year to join the government side said that several of the NNP government ministers were led to believe by their leaders that paying the pension will create severe financial difficulties and hardship for the country.
She told the House that it was only after the election in which NNP was voted out of office that she started hearing talk from her leaders that they had left a Treasury full of money for the new Congress administration of Dickon Mitchell.
“…If you have all this millions, hundreds of millions as one of my former colleagues said, “they lie for us,” because we didn’t know.”
“We genuinely did not know that there were millions in the Treasury. We were told, “to pay the pension, we will bankrupt the country.” Is that a country I want to leave for my children? That’s what we were told. And we believed it. We did not have the figures. We are not Statisticians. We do not have those figures.”
According to the former top NNP Minister, she believed back then that paying pension to retirees would have “bankrupt” the country.
She complemented the current Dickon Mitchell-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration for their ability to keep their promise during the 2022 election campaign to pay the retirees’ from the public service their pension.
She said “The Rookies, the inexperienced” as the NDC group of candidates were referred to during the campaign by NNP did manage to get into office and kept the promise to “pay the pension.”
“…The rookies came in and they paid the pension. Can you imagine? Making your public officers walk in the sun, in the rain and you have money in your Treasury that you can pay them? And you dock their salary?”
MP Thomas told the House that she was one member of the former NNP Cabinet that supported paying pensions despite the opposition from some of her colleagues.
“I championed my whole Cabinet. I said it here already. I called around like I was going crazy. Because I say if we get (Pension as an MP), why they (public officers) can’t get. Why do we have to appeal the case? So don’t let them fool us and say well, they (were) going to pay it still. They wanted to appeal the case. There was a discussion – that’s why I championed around and got people to say no – we can’t appeal no case.”
THE NEW TODAY understands that one of the NNP’s long-standing lawyers was urging then Prime Minister Keith Mitchell to appeal the decision of High Court Judge Justice Raulston Glasgow on the Pension issue.
Former President of the Senate Chester Humphrey was identified as one of those persons within the NNP Camp who rejected the proposal being put forward by the lawyer to appeal the case out of fear that the ruling party would have suffered a massive defeat in the upcoming general election.
MP Thomas addressed the issue of the docked salaries of public officers in 2018 for taking industrial action against the Keith Mitchell-led NNP regime.
“I was so upset and I know a particular other member… who was upset too. Wasn’t happy that the teachers’ salary docked and spoke about it,” she said.
The female MP from rural St Andrew admitted that not everything was bad under the former administration.
“I will not sit here and say that under the former administration, nothing good was not done. As I said in a media interview, the only thing constant is change. So after 20 years of doing the same thing over and over there must be change. And that is why the people decided that they will give a new team a chance,” she remarked.
The former Minister admitted that there was some hesitancy and fear within the NNP camp at the time regarding the new Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell and his youthful administration after taking office in June 2022.
However, she said the evidence speaks for itself as the new outfit in office are making positive decisions.
“You are seeing – they paid the pension, they gave free tuition assistance. they (are) looking to increase the Minimum Wage. The elderly families are now getting $200 permanent, not in an election year. Bi-monthly salary and the most famous one – they provided an increase for MPs. Can you imagine?”
The female MP stated that she is the holder of a Master’s degree in Human Resources, but was receiving a salary of only $1200 as an Opposition Member of the Lower House of Parliament.
In presenting the 2024 Budget, Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall announced that all elected Parliamentarians will get paid a monthly salary of EC$5000.00.
The St. Andrew North-west MP indicated that even her former colleagues who are now serving in the Opposition are happy for the increase in salary despite initial opposition from their own leader.
“I will say thank you on behalf of the others because we rallied together before I came here – saying that we will accept. That’s one of the reasons why I was blacklisted because I stood up. So I said we will accept and champion for an increase,” she said.
She went on to say: “When I (was) placed on the House Committee, the people elected me. However, behind the scenes a decision was made to take me out. I said, well if you take me out from the House Committee then take me out from every other committee otherwise I’m going to say I am not interested…He (Keith Mitchell) believed that I was going and championed for an increase.”
MP Thomas hinted that her former political boss was adopting this position out of a desire to keep people poor and to “stay hungry and beg and always come (and) stay dependent.”
“They had their season,” she said, as she urged Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell to continue to deliver on his promises made to the electorate to get into office.
“I want to say to the Honorable Prime Minister on this side, it’s your season to shine and you have to shine bright as a diamond.”
The St Andrew North-west parliamentarian is heavily favoured to be selected by Congress as its candidate for the constituency in the next general election.
THE NEW TODAY understands that the NNP is engaged in talks with one male and a female to recruit them as the potential candidate.