Former Government Minister Calls for Job Description and Extended Retirement Age for Members of Parliament in Barbados
Former government minister and senator, Rudolph Cappy Greenidge, calls for a job description for Members of Parliament in Barbados, stating that they are seen as "modern-day sugar daddies" by constituents. He also suggests increasing the pensionable age for MPs.
By Jenique Belgrave
A former government minister and senator is calling for a job description for Members of Parliament who he said are seen and treated by many Barbadians as the “modern-day sugar daddy”.
And while suggesting that the pensionable age for MPs should be increased by at least another ten years, Rudolph Cappy Greenidge said the issue should not be used as a political football.
Greenidge, who served under several Barbados Labour Party (BLP) administrations, was a guest speaker at the third town hall meeting of the Parliamentary Reform Commission (PRC) which was held at the Princess Margaret Secondary School on Thursday night.
Presenting on The Role of the MP, he recommended that a job description be created for parliamentary representatives since Barbadians seemed to believe that their responsibilities to constituents had no “cut-off” point.
“People are no longer turning to friends and relatives to assist them. They turn to the MP. The MP is what somebody may want to describe as the modern-day ‘sugar daddy’,” said Greenidge.
“The MP is called upon to help young mothers with uniforms, with lunch money, and even to help solve a lot of their personal problems. For instance, the fathers not supporting the children, so the MPs are asked to support the child. You don’t have money to pay the rent, so the MP is asked to pull his pocket. On top of that, the MP is asked to attend every function – every school fair, every church luncheon, every fundraising activity, every funeral . . . . The MP must help the fire victim to get a house, and the MPs do. But the only point I’m making is that it is no longer about just the roads and talking in the House of Assembly. That is not all it is,” he stressed.
Greenidge also insisted that contrary to popular belief, MPs did not get any significant perks.
“I know that not far away from Barbados is a place where an MP can get duty-free cars, maybe every two years. MPs in Barbados get no duty-free concessions. MPs have no medical insurance as MPs. They get no sickness benefits. MPs in Barbados, with two exceptions, are not chauffeur-driven, and at the end of it, an MP is only as good as his last favour,” the former representative for St Philip North.
Contributing to the discussion, former MP Stephen Lashley, who served as a minister under the Democratic Labour Party for two terms, said the role of parliamentarians has become multi-faceted and changes should be made to accommodate that.
“I also feel that the reform exercise must go in a direction of ensuring or encouraging members of parliament to annually design constituency development plans which are presented for appropriate funding by the state,” he said.
“I think there is a juncture at which the needs of a constituency can’t be financed only by donations or from the MP’s own pocket. I think we have gone beyond that. I think that we need to have a system where members of
parliament can identify budgets, identify their constituency development plans, and have those plans financed by the state.”
Meantime, weighing in on the recent public discussion about what age members of the House of Assembly should become eligible for a pension from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Greenidge agreed that it should be higher than the current age of 50.
“My personal view is that an ex-parliamentarian at 50 can get another job. Yes, I think that 50 is a bit generous. I think that 50 is early. I would be comfortable with even 60 years. And I know that there are some parliamentarians who might even say, ‘Don’t touch it. Leave it at 50’,” he told the audience.
“Let me say tonight that this is not a big issue, and sometimes I wonder what it is that we’re making all this big hurrah about. In any one session of parliament, how many parliamentarians are under 50 or have just lost their seat at 50. Those who have ever benefited from this 50-year rule can be counted on one hand, believe me. That 50-year rule applies to very, very few parliamentarians,” said the former Deputy President of the Senate who urged Barbadians not to make the issue a political one.
A week ago, Prime Minister Mia Mottley expressed the view that the pensionable age for MPs should be increased “significantly”, although not as high as the 67 years which applies to the general working population.
She said the terms and conditions of parliamentarians were being examined by the PRC and she hoped it would be addressed in its report due by the end of this year.
However, President of the Democratic Labour Party Dr Ronnie Yearwood suggested that the prime minister did not need to wait for the PRC to make a pronouncement on the matter, and he challenged her to bring the pensionable age of MPs in line with everyone else.
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