00:00The Prime Minister's Pension Amendment Bill 2025 will require a three-fifths majority to pass in both Houses of Parliament.
00:09That means the government will need the support of the independent Senators for it to be approved in the Senate.
00:16Already, several independent Senators have indicated they will not be pressured into supporting either side.
00:22Speaking on the TV6 Morning Edition, former Senate President and Attorney at Law Timothy Hamill-Smith said MP Stuart Young should have spoken out on the matter much earlier.
00:35Frankly, I think, and I've said, I think Mr. Young ought to have volunteered to give up the pension. I think that was a proper thing to do.
00:45Hamill-Smith explains that because the legislation contains retroactive components, it is being brought to Parliament as a three-fifths majority bill.
00:56The bill aims at ensuring that MP Stuart Young and anyone who briefly holds the office of Prime Minister should not qualify for a full pension.
01:06Hamill-Smith further believes the PNM's silence on the issue is telling.
01:10It's in the hands of the independent Senators. My understanding is the PNM abstained from voting in the House. Is that what their approach was?
01:26One got the sense that they understood this was the right thing to do. But I may be mistaken.
01:35He also weighs in on the issue of the removal of the central bank governor and the chief executive officer of WASA without any public explanation.
01:45When the matter was raised by the opposition in the lower house on Friday, the government declined to provide answers, instead seeking protection under the standing orders.
01:56Today, Hamill-Smith tells the Morning Edition that the government ought to adopt an open and transparent approach.
02:03For just cause, you can remove a central bank governor. There's no doubt about it. You have to go about it in a procedurally appropriate manner.
02:15And I do think the government should lay out what procedure they adopted. It would be a pity, in fact, if it was just a knee-jerk reaction.
02:27Hamill-Smith admits that in the past, there was a fair amount of feather bedding and a tendency to create jobs for friends and family at WASA.
02:38However, he cautions that heads of institutions cannot automatically be removed simply because of the change in government.
02:46I think, you know, looking long-term, because we don't want this repeating every three years or every five years because you have a change of government.
02:54I do think that we should be, for all positions like this, I would like to see key performance indicators set by the board.
03:06This is our anticipation. You have a five-year window, a three-year window.
03:10This is our expectations. And the country ought to know that.
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