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'Air Bruce' flies high - PM racks up almost $13m first eight months in office
published: Sunday | July 13, 2008
Tyrone Reid, Enterprise Reporter
DESPITE A senior citizen's discount, complimentary flights, free food and complimentary accommodations granted to Prime Minister Bruce Golding, he and his delegation spent approximately $12.7 million on official travel overseas in his first eight months as head of government. Golding is currently on an official visit to Venezuela.
Documents gleaned under the Access to Information Act (ATI) showed that Golding, who declared himself 'chief servant' during his inauguration, opted to use private aircraft for four of the 11 trips, at a combined cost of close to $3 million.
A private aircraft was chartered for the first two trips, which cost the country little over US$34,600 or close to J$2.5 million. The plane was rented from a local hotel chain.
Permission was sought and secured from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service for the use of the private plane. But, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) had to write to the financial secretary seeking an additional US$2,208 as the trip ended up costing more than the amount previously budgeted.
Golding's first trip overseas as prime minister was to the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which cost US$17,764 (J$1.17 million) in air fare only.
Golding's predecessor, Portia Simpson Miller, also made her first overseas trip to the twin-island republic. They both travelled in style by chartering a flight to get there. Simpson Miller's visit in late April 2006 cost US$5,000 (approximately J$328,000 at the time). The aircraft was chartered from Town and Country Limited.
The next time a private plane was chartered by Golding was on his trip to Cuba to attend the PetroCaribe summit in Cienfuegos. This time, the plane was rented from Executive Flight Support Limited, which is based in The Bahamas, and cost taxpayers just little under half a million dollars.
Private plane
A private plane was also chartered for The Bahamas trip to attend the 19th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It seemed the Government and the owners of the plane struck a deal that saw the Government paying a reduced fee. The plane is owned by Sandals Resorts International Limited. A copy of a letter gleaned under the ATI Act read: "As per our agreement, Sandals Flight Depart-ment flew the prime minister and his party to Nassau and back with the understanding that we would be reimbursed for the fuel and ground-handling expenses." Those expenses totalled a little over US$2,500 (J$4178,550).
A trip to Uganda was the single- most expensive trip, costing more than $4 million. In a written communication to The Sunday Gleaner, the OPM advised that the flights for the visit to Miami on December 4, 2007, and Guyana on December 6-8, 2007, were both complimentary.
Hotel choices
Golding's choice of hotels was not as expensive as his predecessor Portia Simpson Miller. In January 2007, The Sunday Gleaner revealed that the nation's first female head of government and her delegation spent close to $10 million dollars on nine trips in her first seven months as prime minister.
However, neither Golding nor Simpson Miller's hotel choices were as pricey as former prime minister P.J. Patterson, who usually opted to sleep in that cost more than US$1,000 per night.
Posh suites
In July 2005, this newspaper revealed that the former prime minister spent $21 million in four years on overseas visits. That figure did not include the cost attached to his travelling delegation, or costs contained in other documents, which may have been missed during ATI searches. On the trip to Miami, Prime Minister Golding stayed in a hotel that cost US$450.87 (J$32,165). While in Guyana, he stayed in a hotel that cost US$265 (J$18,907) a night. Golding also had a few one-day trips that did not require hotel accommodation.
published: Sunday | July 13, 2008
Tyrone Reid, Enterprise Reporter
DESPITE A senior citizen's discount, complimentary flights, free food and complimentary accommodations granted to Prime Minister Bruce Golding, he and his delegation spent approximately $12.7 million on official travel overseas in his first eight months as head of government. Golding is currently on an official visit to Venezuela.
Documents gleaned under the Access to Information Act (ATI) showed that Golding, who declared himself 'chief servant' during his inauguration, opted to use private aircraft for four of the 11 trips, at a combined cost of close to $3 million.
A private aircraft was chartered for the first two trips, which cost the country little over US$34,600 or close to J$2.5 million. The plane was rented from a local hotel chain.
Permission was sought and secured from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service for the use of the private plane. But, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) had to write to the financial secretary seeking an additional US$2,208 as the trip ended up costing more than the amount previously budgeted.
Golding's first trip overseas as prime minister was to the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which cost US$17,764 (J$1.17 million) in air fare only.
Golding's predecessor, Portia Simpson Miller, also made her first overseas trip to the twin-island republic. They both travelled in style by chartering a flight to get there. Simpson Miller's visit in late April 2006 cost US$5,000 (approximately J$328,000 at the time). The aircraft was chartered from Town and Country Limited.
The next time a private plane was chartered by Golding was on his trip to Cuba to attend the PetroCaribe summit in Cienfuegos. This time, the plane was rented from Executive Flight Support Limited, which is based in The Bahamas, and cost taxpayers just little under half a million dollars.
Private plane
A private plane was also chartered for The Bahamas trip to attend the 19th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It seemed the Government and the owners of the plane struck a deal that saw the Government paying a reduced fee. The plane is owned by Sandals Resorts International Limited. A copy of a letter gleaned under the ATI Act read: "As per our agreement, Sandals Flight Depart-ment flew the prime minister and his party to Nassau and back with the understanding that we would be reimbursed for the fuel and ground-handling expenses." Those expenses totalled a little over US$2,500 (J$4178,550).
A trip to Uganda was the single- most expensive trip, costing more than $4 million. In a written communication to The Sunday Gleaner, the OPM advised that the flights for the visit to Miami on December 4, 2007, and Guyana on December 6-8, 2007, were both complimentary.
Hotel choices
Golding's choice of hotels was not as expensive as his predecessor Portia Simpson Miller. In January 2007, The Sunday Gleaner revealed that the nation's first female head of government and her delegation spent close to $10 million dollars on nine trips in her first seven months as prime minister.
However, neither Golding nor Simpson Miller's hotel choices were as pricey as former prime minister P.J. Patterson, who usually opted to sleep in that cost more than US$1,000 per night.
Posh suites
In July 2005, this newspaper revealed that the former prime minister spent $21 million in four years on overseas visits. That figure did not include the cost attached to his travelling delegation, or costs contained in other documents, which may have been missed during ATI searches. On the trip to Miami, Prime Minister Golding stayed in a hotel that cost US$450.87 (J$32,165). While in Guyana, he stayed in a hotel that cost US$265 (J$18,907) a night. Golding also had a few one-day trips that did not require hotel accommodation.
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