Prime Minister Patrick Manning says the $3,000 monthly pension proposed by the UNC-led People's Partnership is unsustainable. Manning made the statement during a meeting of the People's National Movement (PNM) in Macoya on Thursday night. The meeting was in support of the party's candidate for Tunapuna, Education Minister Esther Le Gendre, the incumbent MP.
Manning said under the existing arrangement where senior citizens got a monthly grant of $2,500, the annual cost was $1.6 billion. He said the UNC-led coalition's proposal would cost the state $3.2 billion, an increase of $1.57 billion. Manning gave a comparative figure of the cost of the two rates over the next five years. He said the current rate of the grant would cost more than $10 billion, while the UNC's would cost in excess of $29 billion.
Manning said he wanted to know how the UNC-led coalition government would fund such a measure if it won't implement the new rate of property taxes. "That level of financing is unsustainable and the only way they could sustain that level of financing is by cutting the salaries of the public service...That's the only way," he said to the cheering crowd. Manning appealed to the UNC supporters to vote for the PNM in Monday's general election. He asked them if the UNC now being led by Kamla-Persad-Bissessar resembled the party which was founded by Basdeo Panday 21 years ago.
Earlier, MP for St Joseph, Public Administration Minister Kennedy Swaratsingh apologised to Prime Minister Manning for the show of defiance meted out to him during a recent visit to the constituency.
During that walkabout, 81-year-old resident Percy Villafana attempted to prevent Manning from entering his (Villafana) yard and placed his crossed hands in front of him to stop the Prime Minister.
Swaratsingh again denied any wrongdoing as was being claimed by Opposition MP Jack Warner.