It wasn’t me…

…a follow-up to a previous post.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar stated that she never promised an old age pension at age 60. At a recent press conference, she sort to clear up the issue of old age pension in relation to widespread speculation as to what age it will be granted, many have interpreted platform rhetoric to mean that pensions was guaranteed at age 60. The Prime Minister stated that the People’s Partnership never promised that pension will begin at age 60 but was looking at increasing the retirement age to 65.

In seeking to explain (backtrack) this blunder, the PM indicated:

"If I were to be honest with you, first I would say, it wasn't me. In my conversations on the platform I was very clear in my mind as we were very clear in our manifesto…I was very clear on two things, one, it will not be a grant we will restore the pension so it will be an entitlement, not a discretionary grant you can take or give, which we did, we kept that promise. And, I was also clear that there would be no one in that category, the pensioners, the existing ones getting the grant who will get less than $3,000 and we've kept that promise,"

"The finances of the nation will not be able to do that at this time, but certainly if and when the finances of our nation will allow it, we will do it. But we also have in train as a matter of public policy; we are looking to increasing the retirement age to age 65 instead of age 60," she said.

The manifesto of the People’s Partnership is very clear and in a previous post I sort to demonstrate how clear they were and point out that we should not just accept what is said on the platform, rather we must look at the documented policies.

The manifesto, in part, stated the following:

…they will reinstate the Old Age Pension Act and that Pensions must be an entitlement not a grant they will remove

…the restrictions and qualifications for receiving Old Age Pension and “thus” every citizen will automatically receive this Pension

…increase the entitlement to $3,000

The sub head of the relevant section read: Ageing Population: Life begins at age 60.

For the PM to indicate today that her government never promised old age pension at age 60 is less than honest. The headline suggest this and nothing else even if it was explicitly stated, maybe this is the cleverness of those who wrote the document. I was and is still willing to wait some time before everything that was promised to be delivered, but I am not willing to accept this sort of rubbish from the politicians. But they are not the only ones to blame, we are equally if not solely to blame because we accept this kind of politics where the politicians jump up onto a platform, tell the DJ to spin some soca and chutney and then turn to us and spew rubbish onto our ever accommodating faces.

I have no real issue with what was indicated in the manifesto and I am not concerned in the least bit about what was said on the platform, I pay no attention to that, and I have never attended a single meeting as I am not one who will base my decision on what is said at those meetings as so many foolish people seem to prefer to do. As I have said, the manifesto is very clear (in my view). However listening to the PM today, something has gone wrong and to say that the finances of the country does not allow for pensions to be paid at age 60 is not being genuine with the population, a population which should not base their decisions on platform rubbish in the first place. Again, not that I am agreeing with those who claim that the government said they will pay at age 60 because they indicated that pensions will be paid at the pensionable age. The only misleading piece is the headline which state life begins at 60.

The Prime Minister should have done better in explaining this issue. Her offered explanation has just placed a level of doubt as to the other promises of her government. This blunder has placed the entire agenda of the present government into question. What else will they say they did NOT say? What else will they NOT do that they said they will do?

My forehead is clean. What is written on yours?