Norton’s salary & benefits amount to $1.8M for doing practically nothing – Jagdeo 

General Secretary of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has rapped Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton over criticisms regarding government’s recent salary increase announcements for public servants.

In criticising the 10% retroactive increase for 2024 and the additional 8% increase for 2025, Norton called out President Dr Irfaan Ali’s monthly salary of $2.9 million.

But Jagdeo, during a press conference on Thursday, labelled Norton as being hypocritical, noting that the Opposition Leader makes $1.8 million monthly for doing ‘practically nothing’.

Jagdeo, who is also the country’s Vice President, disclosed that Norton’s emoluments, allowances and other benefits equate to $1.8 million, excluding vacation allowance and other annual payments.

“This is what Norton gets….for doing nothing practically, for just walking around the place and being a nuisance. At least Ali is working,” Jagdeo contended.

Furthermore, the Vice President noted that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration has increased wages and salaries by 80% from 2020 to 2025 compared to a 36% increase for the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government.

“In five years, your salary increases were less than the 50% the government took three months after they got into office,” he said referring to the 50% increase in salaries granted to Government Ministers in 2015.

According to Jagdeo, since 2020, the PPP has successfully increased the overall public sector wages as follows:

Central Government – $71.8B  in 2020 to $121.4B in 2024

Public enterprises – $16.1B  in 2020 to $24B in 2024

Statutory bodies – $38.9B in 2020 to $69.2B in 2024

“For the whole of the public sector, in 2020, the wage bill was $126.8B, it’s $210.7B per year. That means it’s an $83.9B more per year than the public sector is currently getting from the Government of Guyana…this is a significant increase”

This, he said, benefits over 70,000 persons.