By Fay Simmons
Tribune Business Reporter
jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
A Cabinet minister yesterday called pension anomalies impacting Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers to be addressed.
Wayne Munroe, minister of national security, during his 2023-2024 Budget contribution noted that Defence Force pensions are being calculated without including officers’ allowances and said he was “hopeful’” the issue will soon be resolved.
“There is a legitimate complaint about from the forces..on human capital,” he said. “There is an anomaly. The Defence Force pension regulations require that the allowances of Defence Force personnel are added to their pensionable emoluments for the computation of pension.
“Unfortunately, to this point, the public service has, in fact, worked out their pension as if they were public servants, disregarding the allowance. We hope, having spoken with Golden Gates [minister of state for the public service, Pia Glover-Rolle] to move with dispatch to move the Cabinet to address this long-outstanding issue for retirees from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.”
Mr Munroe also defended the decision not to provide insurance for the dependents of new recruits to the uniformed branches of government. He maintained that the coverage for existing officers will remain unchanged, and added that the changes - which new recruits are aware of - have not affected recruitment, with the Royal Bahamas Police Force seeing 600 applicants in two weeks.
He said: “Another matter with regard to human capital…with medical insurance.. the reality is that everyone who is presently in service, there is absolutely no change. Absolutely none. For persons coming in who are advised of the change, the Commissioner of Police advised within two weeks of the portal opening there were 600 applicants for the recruitment of 125 spaces.”
Mr Munroe said the Government does not provide insurance coverage for police reserves. Argueing that reservists can be injured in the line of duty as easily as regular police officers, he said they should be given insurance coverage as well.
He added: “The person who protects in here, the reserve sergeant, has no medical insurance at all. They require us to be fiscally responsible, so you have to manage money. And so when the policy has changed we will ensure, at our expense, everyone who stands between us and a bullet [is covered. That includes the reserve sergeant.”
“On the 22nd of this month there will be a joint passing out in this square. There will be regular police officers, they will have insurance, their families will have insurance paid for by the Bahamas government. The reserve squad will have none.
“We have a duty to protect people who stand in front of us, and that they do, and it’s a challenge to make it possible within your fiscal constraints to do it for all. This is one step that has to be taken to be certain that the reserve constable, sergeant, inspector who can be as easily injured in that car as the regular officer, is covered.”
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