On August 31st at the Investment Summit - the media cornered the Prime Minister and pressed him to make a statement on the sexting scandal involving Minister of the Blue Economy Andres Perez.
This was 10 days after Perez had supposedly requested a leave of absence from the Cabinet. In the interim, the Prime Minister took charge of his portfolios.
But, since he's not doing his work as a Minister - is he still being paid as a Minister? Their salary is about 81 thousand dollars a year and without a Cabinet portfolio - it sinks to under 40 thousand dollars annually.
So in that end of August interview we asked the PM - and he said Perez was not getting paid:
Reporter
"Unpaid.?
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Yes, it is."
But, the Prime Minister apparently mis-spoke. Government pay sheet documents revealed today show that Perez is being fully paid right up to the 15th September when he received his usual 3,375 per pay period after deductions.
So, why would the PM lie? The Cab Sec Stuart Leslie says don't blame the PM - it's his fault. He told us today he failed to instruct the Finance Officer to cut Perez's pay and that, indeed, he's not supposed to be paid as a Minister. Leslie says the cut will be made as he corrects what was his administrative oversight.
