New Cabinet to cost taxpayers some $421M
Ainsworth Morris / Our Today
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The new 18-member Cabinet of the Holness administration is expected to cost taxpayers more than $421 million each year in salaries.
The 18 government ministers were officially sworn into office yesterday during a ceremony at King’s House, but their appointments come with a hefty price tag for taxpayers. The salary bill for the executive will swell following the appointments of junior ministers and any parliamentary secretary.
Based on the most recent salary structure, the bulk of the salaries ($342,109,710) will go to paying the Cabinet ministers, each of whom will take home $22,807,314 annually.
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness commands the highest individual salary, set at $28,587,893. It is unclear whether he will accept the huge salary package. In 2023, Holness declined the 214 per cent increase in his salary and opted to continue receiving his $9.1 million salary.
“A prime minister with a new mandate could always review the position,” Holness said at the time.
He received a new mandate to continue as prime minister following his party’s victory in the September 3 general election.
Holness, has charged members of his new Cabinet to approach their responsibilities with humility, discipline and teamwork.
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