Premier Reuben Meade has refused to disclose the salaries of his new advisor and community liaison officer in parliament, dismissing calls from the opposition for transparency.
Opposition leader Paul Lewis requested details on the positions, including total compensation, in the Montserrat Legislative Assembly on 25 February.
Meade responded that the salaries of public servants come from the recurrent budget, adding: “sometimes, I wonder, why do we keep looking in the plate of others to see what others get?”
“We’re not talking policy issues, we’re not talking policy decisions, but we want to see what our brothers and sisters get,” he continued.
“And therefore, if the honourable member wishes to know what the salary is, have a call to the permanent secretary and the permanent secretary will give you that response.”
Lewis responded that he asks questions to get answers for both the assembly and the people of Montserrat, and suggested the public should not have to call the permanent secretary for answers.
However, his response was cut short due to parliamentary rules on debates during the question section of proceedings.
The opposition leader’s initial question also asked the premier to disclose details on the process used to appoint the two roles.
Meade explained that the creation of the special adviser position was recommended at a 2021 organisational review of the Office of the Premier to address the lack of direct support.
“The appointment of the advisor to the premier is seen as a key requirement to provide high level support in relation to policy, strategic support to the premier,” he said.
“And this position is one which is well established in other governments, regionally and internationally, and is a politically appointed role.”
He said that upon taking office, the advisor role was established with the approval from the Office of the Deputy Governor.
The premier did not go into details of the appointment process.
Watch the sitting of the Montserrat Legislative Assembly in full below:
