Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley should keep his campaign promise not to take a “dime” of the post-term salary payments available to him under the law widely known as the “Greedy Bill,” the opposition has insisted.
The demand came after the premier changed his tune on a controversial legislative provision that allows for certain members of the House of Assembly to continue receiving full pay for up to four years after they leave office.
The sweeping payouts under the original “Greedy Bill” — officially titled the Retiring Allowances (Legislative Service) (Amendment) Act, 2021 — provoked such uproar in the 2023 election campaigns that Mr. Wheatley promised he would not take the money.
Later that year, the HOA repealed the provision granting the post-term salary payments.
Citing legal reasons, however, members phrased the October 2023 repeal amendment to permit members of the previous House — which sat from 2019-2023 — to keep the payments unless they explicitly turn them down in writing.
‘Not ready’
Despite his pre-election promise, the premier acknowledged during an Oct. 3 press conference that he had not yet relinquished the money in writing.
“That letter must be written when persons are ready to retire, or they have been retired,” he said at the time. “I’m not ready to retire right now, and I have no intention of writing any letters. I will be contesting the next election, and I hope to be successful. If I’m not successful, then we will have decisions to make after that.”
The amended law, however, does not state when the letter must be written.
On Oct. 3, the premier also declined to urge other current members to forgo the post-HOA monies.
“It’s going to be for individual members, in consultation with their families, to make the decisions of what they accept and what they don’t accept,” he said.
Called out
The premier’s shift prompted Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn to call him out last week.
“I think if one makes a promise they should follow through on the promise,” Mr. Walwyn told a press conference last Thursday in response to a question on the topic. “This really is a matter for the premier.”
Mr. Walwyn added that he and the five other current HOA members who did not serve in the previous House are not eligible for the post-term payouts — a claim that was confirmed later that day by government Communications Director Karia Christopher.
“I am not entitled to any of that,” Mr. Walwyn said.
Total cost unclear
The government has not disclosed the total cost of the repealed “Greedy Bill” provision so far.
After the 2023 election, six members who left the HOA were eligible for the post-term payouts, including disgraced former premier Andrew Fahie, who is currently serving a prison term of 11 years and three months in the United States on drug-smuggling conspiracy charges.
In February 2024, Mr. Wheatley told the HOA that the cost of paying off the six former members could reach nearly $2.7 million unless they turned down the awards in writing. At the time, the six did not respond to Beacon requests to say whether they would take the optional money.
Asked at his Oct. 3 press conference how much the six ultimately received, Mr. Wheatley said he would provide the information within two working days. But since then, he and his office have not provided the information despite repeated follow-up requests.
Along with Mr. Fahie, the six eligible ex-legislators include former Fourth District Representative Mark Vanterpool, who retired in 2023, and four politicians who were voted out that April: former Sixth District Representative Alvera Maduro-Caines; former Ninth District Representative Shereen Flax-Charles; former At-Large Representative Neville Smith; and the late former At-Large Representative Carvin Malone, who died suddenly in January 2024.
The premier is among seven current HOA members who were returned to office in 2023 after serving in the previous House — and who therefore will be eligible for the post-term salary when they leave office unless they turn it down in writing.
Besides the premier, none have responded to Beacon requests to say whether they will take the payments.
Asked to comment on Mr. Walwyn’s remarks, the premier said he will address them at his next press conference, which has not yet been scheduled.
