Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons expressed his party?s ?surprise? on Friday that Government had not made tabling an order to increase seniors? pensions its first priority.

A three percent increase had been promised to seniors earlier this year and was supposed to take effect by August. However a Government spokesperson said because Parliament was annulled on June 10 for the July 24 General Election, Government was unable to table the legislation. Such legislation is normally tabled near the end of the budget period.

However Dr. Gibbons responded by saying: ?The Minister of Finance dropped the ball. There was nothing preventing him from bringing up the order months before the Election ... The Election is simply being used as an excuse.?

As the legislation was not tabled before the Election, the increase itself was not scheduled to kick in until December, and in September the Government spokesperson said it did not appear to take into account any backdated payments.

Government has since done an about-face on the retrospective payments, tabling an order in the House of Assembly on Friday allowing for such an increase to be backdated. However, as Dr. Gibbons noted: ?They?re putting through legislation allowing them to do so, but what we still don?t have is the actual order to give the increase ... Seniors will still be waiting for legislation to put in place the increases.

Dr. Gibbons said the UBP was expecting the order for the increases to be tabled on the first day back in the House. ?We were expecting it to be tabled ASAP because it?s not the seniors? fault, and with all Government?s pious claims of supporting seniors it could?ve moved very quickly.?

However, as Dr. Gibbons noted in the reply to the Throne Speech, the UBP was surprised the order was not tabled.

Dr. Gibbons said the Opposition was pleased that seniors will be able to receive increases retrospectively. ?The order still isn?t here, and we?re still waiting to see when it will come.?