Nassau, Bahamas – November 28, 2017 – Civil Servants wants government to relax its policy on how much of their salary can be assigned to lending institutions; it is currently set at 75% and Marlon Johnson, at the Ministry of Finance says the measure is in place so that government workers do not increasingly become the working poor.
Johnson told media he is inundated with requests waive the 25% and that a recent memorandum to Permanent Secretaries of the various ministries was designed to reinforce the policy and to state that it would only be bypassed for medical emergencies. Johnson said when the measure was established, some government workers were taking home less than $50 a month.
The acting Financial Secretary says this is a problem, “Many Bahamians have fallen into the so-called ‘debt trap’, where the ‘take home’ portion of their salaries is minimal because so much has already been committed to salary deductions that service loan payments to banks and other lenders.
This leaves them unable to afford basic, every day necessities essential for living, such as food and water, and the payment of utility bills” The 75 per cent ‘limit’, “means that at a minimum your non-committed salary should be at least 25 per cent of your gross earnings”, had been in place for “at least 20 years” across successive administrations.
