Recent massive salary increases for Constitutional Appointees; including Opposition Leader Wavel Ramkalawan, does not appear to be matched by a similar fat allocation for his personal security. Ramkalawan started receiving a R 15, 000 monthly allocation to employ security personnel just before the 2002 elections when he claimed there was a plot to assassinate him. He usually has just one security man, one Labrosse who seems to be sticking by his side for a longer period than his predecessors. Before him, several bodyguards had been fired just a few months after recruitment when the boss discovered they were actually spies allegedly planted in their midst by the SPPF.
But to go back to the alleged plot, Ramkalawan claimed that he was secretly informed that a man had been approached by three persons linked to the SPPF to plot an assasination against him. This charade made it as far as SBC television.
Interviewed on SBC, Ramkalawan surprisingly refused to divulge the identities of the three persons. However, the “People” newspaper stated that according to a statement made to the police by Ramkalawan, the alleged assassin was the driver of an ex-SPPF Minister. The alleged plotters were also named as being army doctor and casino owner Vithunasamy Ramadoss, lawyer France Bonte and Hughes Payet, then SPPF MNA and hotelier.
Ramkalawan said he was taking the matter seriously. Since becoming the Leader of the Opposition in the 1998 elections, he had been the only political leader without any security arrangement. This was not the case for then President Rene and ex-President Mancham who received allocations provided for in the national budget. Ministers are assigned security guards at their homes.