Former president Sir Ellis Clarke, who currently receives a meagre pension of $6,000 a month, would now collect a handsome pension of $49,500 a month.

The increase has come about with the passage in the Senate yesterday of the President’s Emolument Bill, which provides for a review every six years of the pension of all holders of the Office of President to bring it in line with the salary of the current holder of the office. (Previously a former president collected after retirement for the rest of his life whatever salary he got when he demitted office).

The bill would affect two other persons-Arthur NR Robinson and the widow of Noor Hassanali, Zalayhar.

Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne who piloted the measure, disclosed that Sir Ellis’s pension was $6,000, in response to a question from Opposition Senate Wade Mark who wanted to know how many pensions Sir Ellis collected and the amounts.

’That (Sir Ellis’s pension) is one of the inequities we are here to correct,’ Browne said.

Mark said while he supported the bill in principle, this benefit should not only be for Presidents, but should extend to all classes of senior citizens, including former Ministers, Members of Parliament and public servants. Mark said former minister Kamalluddin Mohammed, who gave so many years of service to the country, currently receives a monthly pension of $8,000.

’Bring legislation to deal with former ministers... many...are under a lot of stress,’ Mark said. He also noted that senators (without ministerial portfolio) are not now entitled to pension at all.

’We are debating a matter to give increased pensions to others and we (senators) have no pension rights at all,’ Mark added.

He argued that under Section 141 of the Constitution, it was the Salaries Review Commission-not Parliament-which was responsible for reviewing the salary, terms and conditions of service of the President and other office holders.

But Browne explained that Section 141 of the Constitution applies to the position of the President whilst he is in office, whereas the President’s Emolument Bill was dealing with the person after he leaves office.

Mark also called on Government not to tax the pensions of all pensioners, as is done with the pensions of presidents and former presidents. Saying that everyone should get an improvement in their pension benefits, Mark called for indexing of all pensions to the cost of living, the removal of the ceiling on National Insurance Scheme pensions and senior citizen’s grant.