Minister of State Joseph Harmon yesterday donated the value of his salary increase for October to the people of Crane, West Coast Demerara, for the installing of street lights in the village and proclaimed that he will donate the same amount from his November and December salaries to communities in Berbice and Essequibo.
“Well, as everyone knows I come from Pouderoyen, I born and grown deh and so when we came into office after the May 11 elections the people from Middle Street [Pouderoyen] came to me and said we want to do a village day and we want to run some lights in the street,” Harmon said yesterday at the People’s National Congress Reform’s (PNCR) annual regional conference at the Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary School. He said that after the residents made their request he had to deny them as it was not budgeted for the region. He added that because he came from the area he took it upon himself to personally provide the money to pay for the lights. “So I took my salary for the month of June and I gave it to the people to run those lights. So people could say I arrogant and all of that,” Harmon added, stating that subsequently residents from Crane also asked about lights for their community to which he promised that he would do something. “Today I want to donate to the people … the value of the salary increase I received which comes up to $217, 000,” he said, adding that in November he will make a similar monetary contribution to the people of Angoy’s Avenue, the community in New Amsterdam, Berbice that he adopted and in December to a village along the Essequibo Coast.
Harmon had been strongly criticized for the manner in which he defended large salary increases for Cabinet ministers. He had stated among other things “I’m not going to make any apologies whatsoever for ministers getting an increase in salaries, they deserve it”. The APNU+AFC administration also
