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| (L-R) Members of the voluntary Independent Advisory Committee Pastor Davidson Morton, Mr Rawlinson Isaac and Mr Alford Tyrell. |
CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (October 17, 2006) -- Members of the recently established Independent Advisory Committee said at a press conference at the Red Cross Conference Room on Tuesday, that their role was solely to review the salary, conditions of work and emoluments of Parliamentarians and Ministers of the Nevis Island Administration with a view to making recommendations for structured guidelines and had nothing to do with an immediate salary increase.
The members were at the time responding to questions fielded by local reporters, one of which suggested that the Committee had been established to look into an early pay hike for Parliamentarians in Nevis.
The Committee was established by the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) last week with the appointments of Mr. Rawlinson Isaac, Pastor Davidson Morton and Mr. Alford Tyrell (Chairman) by Premier and Minister of Finance the Honourable Joseph Parry.
Mr. Tapley Seaton QC. CMG a senior member of the St Kitts and Nevis Bar Association and former Attorney General of the Federation will serve as Counsel to the Committee, with the Ministry of Finance providing support staff.
Mr. Tyrell, the Committee's Chairman gave a brief overview of the group's mandate.
"Our mandate is to review the current salaries, allowances, pension benefits and other conditions of service of members of the NIA including the Ministers, including the duties and responsibilities attached to the job, movements in the cost of living and in public service salary scales and to advice on a means of making changes in the future of emoluments of the members of the Nevis Island Assembly. These changes should be perceived to be fair, equitable and in the public interest," he said.
~~Adz:Left~~According to Mr Isaac, the Committee hoped to have a report compiled by the end of November after it had completed a series of town hall meetings, one in each parish on the island and several meetings with religious and service groups, members of the private sector and other interest groups.
"We would like to have this exercise completed about the end of November. It is voluntary but we would like to concentrate our efforts and get it behind us. I think we can safely say that by the end of November, we would have a report ready for submission to the Premier for his Cabinet and we are hoping that, that report would be made available to the general public," Mr. Isaac said.
The Committee has so far established a website www.niasalariesreview.com and an email address info@niasalariesreview.com to allow for any member of the public, including Nevisians in the Diaspora, to allow then easy access to air their views and to make any suggestion to the Advisory Committee.
Meantime, Pastor Morton acknowledged that town hall meetings had their share of challenges but urged members of the public to attend and to be a part of the new government's thrust of transparency.
~~Adz:Right~~"The town hall meetings are always a challenge but I think it is important for the people to be involved in what the government is doing. Let me take the opportunity to encourage the people of Nevis, that when the advertisement is put on the air for these town hall meetings that you take full advantage and ensure you are involved in what the country is doing and in what the parliamentarians are doing because we want to establish a different type of culture in Nevis.
"We don't want any longer, for the government appear to be distant from the people and so, if we could have that coming together, that meshing of the people and the parliamentarians, I think that people will understand that they placed the government there and they [government] have a responsibility to report to them [the electorate] exactly what they are doing," Mr. Morton said.
The first town hall meeting was being planned for Charlestown next week at a venue and date to be announced shortly.
