Published 18 November 2024
Buckie Got It
St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
by Eulana Weekes
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew validated the sentiments of Enoete Inanga that an eight per cent increase for Civil Servants and pensioners in January 2024 equates to a double salary, once the eight per cent over the 12 months is calculated.
Dr Drew, during a guest appearance on WINN FM’s Inside The News on November 16, explained the benefits of the 8 per cent salary increase, sharing that it allows individuals more standing power in terms of their economic position to approach institutions and to have more possibilities of building wealth and investments.
“So, let me say that you have done the correct maths, and we did the maths and insisted that the maths be done. Let me say why an increase makes sense. If we are going to shift our people into the best situation, having that type of increase over time, increasing their salaries brings a lot more stability, and it brings a lot more surety, so to speak, in the sense that when you calculate it, this gives them a double all the time. Not just if one year it’s doing well and the next, you’re not doing well. This amounts to a double over time,” Drew expressed.
He added, “The other matter is because you now have a salary increase, it means that you have been empowered. So, your loan possibilities go up because you have that money as part of your normal remuneration; you can approach institutions and say, look, this is my salary amount. Having a larger salary gives you more possibilities. Not only that, but when you get that, you have more possibilities for investments as well, and at the end of the day, when your pension or your social security is calculated, it is calculated at a higher rate. If you get a double salary, that does not go to your overall pension at the end of your life work, but when you increase the salary, you get an increase in social security pension as well, which gives you more security at that time in your life. Not only that, if you were to get sick, your amount would be higher because you have a higher salary because the amount social security gives depends on your salary. So, when you say that people say we come last, I want to point out that we actually have first in terms of delivering to our people. The only country in the Western Hemisphere that has given dividends to its people is St. Kitts and Nevis. It’s the only country. We did it on two occasions. We are first.”
As the year-end festive season approaches, calls for double salaries are being made like in previous years. This year, the calls are coming with greater intensity, partly due to the absence of the lump sum in December 2023.
Before hosting the programme, Inanga, also a Mathematics professor, discussed the matter of double salary on his social media platform. He noted, “Again, the 8% increase the government gave this year adds up to VERY close to the double amount at the end of the year…that is, IF and ONLY if you were putting aside 8% of your salary each month, JUST like the government was doing on your behalf all these years. Double salary is 8.33% of your salary saved every month and paid out in a lump sum at the end of the year. Gotta stop with this sense of entitlement. And yes, I may be shooting myself in the foot with this type of post and mindset, but… fair is fair. At some point, we need to have some measure of appreciation that goes along with personal and fiscal responsibility.”
Inanga provided an example to support his argument.
Assume your salary is $5,000, your salary of $5,000 plus your double salary of $5,000 equals $10,000.
To spread that over 12 months, divide $5,000 by 12, which equals $416.67.
To calculate the monthly percentage increase, divide $416.67 by $5000 multiplied by 100, which equals 8.33%.
In a discussion with the Prime Minister, Inanga said a branding issue relates to the eight per cent increase. In his view, had the Government referred to the salary increase as a double salary, the public’s response would have been different.
“So I think we have a branding problem. I think this is clear that there is a distinct branding problem. Even when you announced the increase, I think it would have helped if it was branded as a double salary in perpetuity and where you would have advised people, listen, if you want, you are already doing without this increase for 12 months where you got the lump sum, put aside half of that every month, not even the whole thing. So you can get a salary and a half from your financial institution at the end of the year, which is what you gave last year. So, I think that if that was your initial messaging, you would not be seeing people clamouring this year for a double because they have not seen it. Some people haven’t really felt that increase because it’s just giving them an increased spending power on things that may be frivolous that they don’t really need, and so I think that from a branding perspective, you can do a little bit more,” Inanga suggested to the Prime Minister.
Alongside the salary increase, Prime Minister Drew and the Minister of Finance further pointed out other initiatives implemented under his administration that were initiated to help ease the financial burdens of citizens and residents.
“We have now in CARICOM, I think is the highest minimum wage, and we are bound to increase it again in 2025. We have the highest minimum wage. We did that. The other thing we did was we gave extra pay, which means we gave extra pay when we gave the increase… Then, in addition to that, they got one in 2022, what you call the double salary, and no other country has done that. In addition to that, they got an independence reset where they got $1,000, and then we rearranged SKELEC, Water Department, and NHC (National Housing Corporation) so that we took away some of the debt burden. No other country in the Western Hemisphere, where they go from Canada down to Argentina, has been able to do this. We have been the most, I would say, progressive in terms of giving direct help to the people,” Drew declared.
Prime Minister Drew further expressed, “So in a sense, if one has to look at this objectively, and you want to compare, because people want to compare, no other country even comes 25% close to what we have done here in Saint Kitts and Nevis. So if you hear another country giving, let’s say, a double salary or extra pay this year, if you look at their track record, you will recognise that that is a one-off, and no significant salary increase came, which will give them that extra pay amount over a year. Our minimum wage is higher. None of them paid dividends. None of them gave a reset like we did, and so on the record, Saint Kitts and Nevis is way ahead, and our people should not take it for granted.”
The Prime Minister reiterated that the increase is a double salary in perpetuity, explaining to beneficiaries that nobody can take it away and no politician can decide whether they get it this year or next year.
