THE practice of a medical allowance entitlement being afforded Cabinet members was addressed yesterday by Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon, who stressed that there is nothing irregular about the matter.“Most of the Cabinet members benefit from the provision of expenses; this is a provision where expenses are met, incurred by the cabinet member and the members of their immediate family. They essentially present cabinet with documentation, based on which the authorisation is provided by the Cabinet for the Ministry of Health to cover those expenses,” he said, during his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing, held at the Office of the President.
Dr. Luncheon’s comments were in response to misinformation being peddled in connection with statements made by the Attorney-General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, on an impugned recording of a private conversation.
“The rule of thumb is once it is a medical expense and the documentation is made available, the Cabinet office authorises payment,” he told reporters.
In a subsequent public statement, Nandlall had said as much, when he said, “I wish to set the record straight on that issue. The reference relates to the reimbursement I received for monies I expended on medical treatment. This reimbursement was approved by Cabinet in a written Cabinet decision dated 20 June 2013. This is, and historically has been, an entitlement of every member of Cabinet long before my appointment.
Additionally, on the controversial recording, the AG is heard making clear that he did make use of this entitlement, but subsequently repaid the monies. Unfortunately this comment on repayment of monies has been distorted by sections of the media.
Opting out of making use of the allowance, according to Dr. Luncheon, is not a strange practice. “Some Cabinet members, I know, have rather zealously avoided a resort to public funding for medical expenses…others haven’t,” he told the media yesterday.
Meanwhile, in an invited comment, the Attorney-General reiterated that there is a need for the peddling of misinformation on the issue to be stopped.
I am happy that this matter has been clarified by the Secretary of the Cabinet and hopefully persons would stop peddling misinformation about this issue and would direct their energies into endeavours that would benefit the people of this country,” Nandlall said.