00:00How could such an important clause that would disenfranchise thousands of elderly people
00:05from their pensions not be noticed for over 18 months?
00:11Were they all asleep at the cabinet table?
00:13The questions posed by opposition leader Kamala Prasad Bissessa during a media conference
00:18on Thursday following the government's explanation on Wednesday about how a clause meant to establish
00:24that senior citizens must not have more than $25,000 in savings in order to be eligible
00:31to receive the senior citizen's pension became part of a bill.
00:36This is what the Prime Minister said on Wednesday.
00:38I came to the attention of the cabinet this morning and there are some communication issues
00:44there where what went to the parliament is not what the policy or the cabinet note directed.
00:57Between the cabinet note and the parliament, adjustments were made without the approval
01:06of the cabinet.
01:07You might ask me, how can I tell you that?
01:12All of that was news to me.
01:14The opposition leader referred to statements made by the Attorney General, Reginald L'Amour,
01:18on Wednesday when he said the clause is to be removed and that the bill is to be withdrawn.
01:24Yesterday, they said the cabinet note was taken to the cabinet in March 2023.
01:32We are now, it was laid on 9th December 2024, which is about 18 months.
01:39That bill has been before the cabinet for about 18 months and it's only Monday.
01:45Yesterday, you called a press conference to say you made a mistake, it was an error.
01:51The opposition leader raised the issue of the savings clause in the bill during the
01:55UNC's Monday Night Forum.
01:57On Thursday, Mrs. Pesad Besesar, who is also a former Prime Minister, outlined the steps
02:02that are taken before a bill is brought to parliament.
02:05She questioned how the inclusion of the savings clause in the bill could have been an error.
02:11You can have a slip, you know, from last week to this week maybe, but 18 months under three
02:19separate sets of review, the LRC, first the cabinet and the policy, then the LRC, which
02:26comprises senior ministers, including the AG, then the Finance Committee, which includes
02:31the Finance Minister and the AG and other senior ministers, and then the whole cabinet
02:35when the notice was taken, and again it goes back for confirmation.
02:40I cannot buy that story, I just don't believe a word.
02:43On Wednesday, Senior Counsel Lamour said he takes responsibility as Attorney General in
02:48response to a question from the media about the public servant who he said had inserted
02:53the savings clause in the bill.
02:55Jule Brown, TV6 News.
03:01Jule Brown, TV6 News.
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