Press Secretary Garvin Nicholas found himself in hot waters this week for allegeledly making a statement that the People's Partnership did not promise pernsions for persons who reach the age of 60 and that such reports could have been a 'misprint'.He explained himself Thursday at the post-cabinet briefing and in an email to JYOTI.
Nicholas said he made the comment in a chat forum on Facebook. He said he was asked to explain what seemed to be a break of the People's Partnership promise of bringing the pensionable age down to 60 from 65.
"I was not sure where 60 came from as I had said on every platform we would increase pension to 3000 but never said anything about 60 and maybe there was a misprint somewhere," he told JYOTI.
"Not necessarily in the newspaper but from some other source. But it was just a suggestion. I made no such claim that there was a misprint. I was simply saying that I did not know where it came from," Nicholas added.
Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, blasted Nicholas Thursday for posting an online comment referring to the retirement age of 60 as a "misprint".
Rowley produced proof from the People's Partnership mainfesto of a promise for a pension for 60-year-old persons.
But Nicholas insisted that he only made "a suggestion of a misprint" and not a claim. "And for the PNM to completely spin it out of control suggesting that I made a public statement that it was a misprint is totally erroneous," he told reporters.
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