Georgetown: The benefits of former Presidents will be a major target in the new Parliament, President David Granger has said as he promised to assent to all bills that were passed in the 10th Parliament, but were not assented to by former President Donald Ramotar.
The President related that he was displeased with the current benefits which are in place for former Presidents. He noted that it was the taxpayers who were funding these and as such, it should be reasonable.
To this end, President David Granger said that the bill will be assented to by him since it was amended and passed in the 10th Parliament but was not signed into law by the then President, Donald Ramotar. “We are going to be reducing the benefits in accordance with the bill which was passed by the National Assembly in 2013. It was passed but was not assented to. But I intend to assent to it as it was passed..,” he related to media operatives.
Granger said that those bills which had been unanimously passed by the National Assembly during the 10th Parliament will receive his signature to ensure that they become law while the others, which were not passed or were not given due attention due to the prorogation of the Parliament, will be returned to the 11th Parliament for debate and passage.
“Everything that was passed by the 10th Parliament but was not assented to will now have to be returned to the 11th Parliament, so I will have to cut benefits to which I am entitled. We introduced the bill because we felt that the whole bill was unfair. We have redrafted it and reintroduced a fairer bill, and I will be a beneficiary of that bill,” President Granger stated.
The benefits of former Presidents have been a contentious issue by the current Government when they were in Opposition. They had vowed that the matter will be given due attention when in the 11th Parliament. The National Assembly in 2013 passed a bill repealing the controversial 2009 Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act but was not signed into law by then President Donald Ramotar. Passed by acclamation, the bill which will also replace the law faced heavy opposition from the then PPP/C Government.
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