Dear Editor,
After lecturing for ten years (1975-1985) at the University of Guyana (UG), I became eligible for a pension in 1995. I was awarded the ‘princely’ sum of seven thousand one hundred twenty-five Guyana dollars per month. When I questioned this amount, I was informed that my award was in keeping with the provisions of the pension scheme in force at UG, when I was seconded from the Public Service in 1975.
Some years ago (1995-96), because of the meagre pensions paid by UG, Cabinet found it necessary to award a special pension of $30, 000, to the late Dr George Walcott, a former Vice-Chancellor of the university. The award was intended to bring some measure of relief from the dire circumstances in which the former Vice-Chancellor had found himself. However, the damage had already been done. Dr Walcott did not survive much longer after receiving his new pension.
In 2011, after all the hype about progress over the past nineteen years, I am still receiving $7,125 per month. This is less than the ‘Old Age’ pension of $7, 500 per month. For some reason or other, it appears that the relevant university officials never thought that I was eligible for any of the 5% cost of living increases awarded to public servants through the years.
I have taken due cognizance of Dr Prem Misir’s letter: ‘Why is President Jagdeo’s pension only now a matter of concern‘ (SN, November 7), in which he defends the President’s pension of $3,000,000 per month. I now, publicly, ask the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Prem Misir, who, for the past eight years, is also the Chairman of the governing Council, and Chairman of the Finance & General Purposes Committee (the relevant university bodies in this matter), to use his good office to bring me (and my contemporaries who are still alive), some measure of relief from this gross abomination. After all, charity begins at home – the University of Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Clarence O Perry
