UNC loses 18-18 pay appeal

The MPs named were Basdeo Panday, Chandresh Sharma, Fuad Khan, Hamza Rafeeq, Ganga Singh, Manohar Ramsaran, Kelvin Ramnath, Nizam Baksh, Harry Partap, Roodal Moonilal, Winston Peters, Gillian Lucky, Subhas Panday, Sadiq Baksh, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Carlos John, and Adesh Nanan.

The court found that the UNC MPs are not entitled to payment because a Speaker of the House of Representatives was not elected and they did not take the oath of allegiance. The 18 PNM MPs are also not entitled to receive salaries and allowances. But the situation is different with the PNM MPs as Patrick Manning was appointed Prime Minister and the other 17 were sworn in as Government ministers. They were paid salaries only as ministers.

However, all 16 Government Senators and nine Independent Senators received their salaries and allowances. They were able to elect a president and vice-president of the Senate, and the senators took the oath of allegiance.

The UNC took the position that the appointment of Manning as Prime Minister by President Arthur NR Robinson was unconstitutional and illegal because the PNM did not defeat the UNC at the polls, but had in fact tied with an equal number of seats.

Therefore, the UNC did not recommend their six senators. Panday did not take up his position as Leader of the Opposition.

Yesterday, the Appeal Court comprising Chief Justice Sat Sharma, Justice Margot Warner, and Justice Allan Mendonca, dismissed the claim by the UNC MPs which was brought against the Attorney General.

Dr Fenton Ramsahoye SC and Anand Ramlogan appeared for the UNC MPs, while Russell Martineau SC represented the Attorney General.

Following the general elections on December 10, 2001, there was an 18-18 tie. Fourteen days later, the then President Arthur NR Robinson elected Manning as Prime Minister.

Robinson, by proclamation, appointed April 5, 2002, as the date of commencement of the First Session of the Seventh Parliament. All 36 elected members attended, but they failed to appoint a Speaker and the President prorogued Parliament.

On August 28, 2002, the House met again at the Second Session, but again failed to elect a Speaker. As a result of the failure to elect a Speaker, none of the 36 members took the oath of allegiance to the House. Therefore, the House could not proceed to dispatch its business.

Between December 25, 2001, and October 6, 2002, the only members who received a salary were those appointed ministers.

All members of the House, including the UNC 18, received disbursements allotted to them for the management and upkeep of their constituency offices during the said period.

The UNC MPs filed a constitutional motion which was dismissed by Justice Nolan Bereaux.

The Appeal Court agreed with the judge that there was nothing in the Constitution which created an entitlement to salary by a Member of Parliament.

Additionally, the judge agreed that there is no provision in law that payment became due to the UNC 18 upon election to the House.

The judge accepted that a member becomes entitled to a salary when he takes the oath of allegiance.

Contacted late yesterday for comment, Panday said, “If that is the decision of the court, so be it. It seems to me unfair (for UNC MPs to be denied their MPs’ salaries) when the PNM MPs were paid because they were made ministers. But if that is the decision of the court....”