THE PARLIAMENTARY Salaries Review Committee will miss its month-end deadline for submitting its report to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
Chairman of the committee, Oliver Clarke, said last month that the committee was seeking to tie up its work by the end of July. However, in giving an update yesterday, he said that deadline was no longer achievable.
According to him, committee members were now looking over a draft of the report and will make the final document available to the Prime Minister by the second half of August.
Mr. Clarke, who is also managing director of The Gleaner Company Ltd., said the committee had received good support from various individuals and interest groups, which made submissions on the issue.
POOR PUBLIC RESPONSE
He said, however, that he was disappointed that there were not more submissions from members of the general public, given the extensive publicity about the work of the committee.
"We are surprised more submissions did not come in," he said.
Prime Minister Patterson set up the committee earlier this year, after controversy broke out over an increase in the salaries of Members of Parliament. The increase pushed their salary from just over $1 million to just over $2 million per annum.
As part of the general adjustment to bring the salaries of civil servants closer to those paid in the private sector, the salaries of MPs were again due for adjustment on April 1, 2003; April 1, 2004; and April 1, 2005.
However, criticism from several interest groups and the wider public led Mr. Patterson to put a freeze on further increases to MPs, pending the findings of the review committee.
Other members of the committee are Corrine McLarty, Bishop Charles Dufour, Tony Lewars and Las Perry.
