Imbert denies $2m gratuity

UNC deputy political leader David Lee says Finance Minister Colm Imbert should state the exact figures of his pension and gratuity after the bill was passed last week.

Imbert denied his gratuity was close to $2 million, as claimed by Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar during this week's Monday Night Forum in Aranguez.

Persad-Bissessar claimed Imbert will now receive $27,120 a year, with a gratuity of $1,922,040, figures which Imbert immediately dismissed. He said the real amount was closer to a quarter of that figure.

Newsday was told Persad-Bissessar's 2015 gratuity was $3 million, her current pay package $64,000 a month and her gratuity after this term will be $500,000.

Minister in the Ministry of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds said Persad-Bissessar was "politically dishonest" in producing "grossly exaggerated" figures.

He said the UNC went on a public charade in debating the bill to get public support while benefiting from the passing of the bill.