AFTER all the talk about giving the recently granted salary increases for parliamentarians and ministers to charity, it appears that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is still undecided about the matter. What they do know for certain, however, is that the money at reference is conscientiously being put into a special bank account.
“We are yet to decide which charity it goes to; currently, the increase goes into a PPP bank account,” party General- Secretary Clement Rohee told reporters yesterday when pressed on the issue during its weekly press briefing at party headquarters, Freedom House.
As he explained, the account which has been in existence for quite some time, permits the party to give a percentage of their salaries, and not just the recently acquired increase, towards whatever cause they so choose.
Having made this disclosure, Rohee said he hopes persons will not run away with the idea that the PPP has “a secret bank account.”
Noting that the party had taken a policy decision on the matter, Rohee said members are, therefore, morally obligated to do what is expected of them; and that is, to deduct the increase or a percentage and deposit it into the prescribed party account.
However, at one of the party’s recent press conferences, Rohee had said that they would be setting up a “charitable fund,” given that they were faced with a situation where the salaries of its Members of Parliament (MPs) had been increased, despite its objection to and rejection of the idea.
Rohee had also asserted at the time that PPP Members of Parliament had committed, in principle, not to accept the 19% increase, and would be making the monthly deductions as necessary.