Cab Sec and GOB C.E.O.s Get Salary Increase in New Term

The Government of Belize has approved salary increases for Cabinet Secretary Stuart Leslie and all Chief Executive Officers in the Briceño administration. The CabSec’s annual salary has been raised to ninety-six thousand dollars, while the CEOs’ salaries have been increased to eighty-eight thousand dollars. News Five obtained a memo where the Cabinet Secretary informed Financial Secretary Joseph Waight and the CEOs about the raises. The document noted that allowances for these positions remain unchanged. Interestingly, the last time government CEOs received a salary increase was in 2018. However, not everyone is pleased with the news. Leader of the Opposition Tracy Panton expressed her alarm. Paul Lopez has more details.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The Cabinet Secretary and Chief Executive Officers received a significant pay raise. A letter to Financial Secretary Joseph Waight, signed by Cabinet Secretary Stuart Leslie, outlines the increases. The Cabinet Secretary’s annual salary is now ninety-six thousand dollars, effective March thirteenth, just one day after the general election. CEOs will now earn eighty-eight thousand dollars a year, effective March eighteenth. Opposition Leader Tracy Panton expressed her alarm over these approved increases.

 

On the Phone: Tracy Taegar Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“I am a little alarmed, and I hope all Belizeans are too, because this is being done at a time when we don’t have an approved budget, when the government continues to operate with an unauthorized spending. Our fiscal year came to an end on March thirty-first. We should have in place by now a budget that was read and approved and dated. That is not the case. It is alarming because we have heard reports of front line workers, whose jobs it is to give service to the Belizean people, operating with subpar equipment in subpar conditions. It is alarming because we recently heard of a decision to release open vote workers who were employed at the Department of Youth Services and the Sports Department.”

 

This isn’t the first time CEO salaries have made headlines. In October 2022, their allowances were restored after being cut by fifty percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, they were earning seventy-six thousand dollars annually. Cabinet Secretary Stuart Leslie noted that the last salary increase for CEOs was in 2018.

 

Stuart Leslie, Cabinet Secretary (File: Oct 28, 2022)

“2018 was the also time that C.E.O.’s got any salary increase, any increase in allowance or anything, 2018. In most jobs you go every ear people get increase. So, if you are talking about cost of living and so on, what we are earning right now is what the government believes a C.E.O. is worth in 2018. Think about this, a ministry like the Ministry of Education, three hundred million dollars, C.E.O. earns seventy-six thousand dollars, plus seven hundred and fifty dollars up until we restored her allowances to fifteen hundred dollars. You go all over the world and ask, C.E.O.’s in large cooperation’s managing far smaller budgets.”

 

Regarding the Cabinet Secretary’s signature on the document approving the salary increase, he told News Five today that his signature is just a formality. He explained that he doesn’t have the authority to set his own salary and didn’t push for an increase. The final decision lies with the Prime Minister, who is also the Minister of Finance and head of Cabinet. However, Opposition Leader Tracy Panton argues that without an established budget for the new fiscal year, these increases lack proper justification.

 

On the Phone: Tracy Panton

“When you enter the public service, while you should be compensated for your experience and expertise and what you bring to the table, your first duty should be to the people. So you enter public service understanding that you cannot be paid a private sector wage because we have to live within a budget that would be focused on delivering service to the people. We serve the people, the people don’t serve us and we have to get back to this idea that public service is about service to country and people and not the other way around. It is difficult for me to understand such increases out of context or any kind of framework as to what our national budget will look like.”

 

CEOs receive annual allowances that include one thousand, five hundred dollars per month for living and entertainment, and two hundred and fifty dollars per month for telephone expenses. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.