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PM's $10m trips - Simpson Miller racks up big travel bill in seven months
published: Sunday | January 28, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody xVlvo="true">
Tyrone Reid, Enterprise Reporter
Within seven months of ascending to the nation's highest political office in March 2006, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and members of her accompanying delegation have spent close to $10 million on official overseas visits.
The Government approved close to $1 million per <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">trip</SPAN> or $1.4 million per month between April and October, figures contained in official documents obtained through the Access to Information (ATI) Act showed.
But members of the public had mixed reactions about whether these trips were too costly.
"I don't want to diminish the importance of our leaders," said economist and publisher, John Jackson, "but (do they) have to stay in <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">five-star </SPAN><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">hotels</SPAN> when people out here can't even afford to go to hospital?"
Bloated delegations
Mr. Jackson also argued that in this age of advanced technology the Prime Minister does not "really need this huge delegation".
"The question is whether we needed to have spent $10 million," he said.
On the other hand, Lorna Duffus, an entrepreneur, told our news team that the position of the Prime Minister demands a certain level of opulence. "You see true she inna dat status, mi can't say no, she shouldn't be spending so much," Ms. Duffus said when asked to respond to the fact that Mrs. Simpson Miller spent almost US$2,000 for two nights on a hotel room while in New York.
Stacy Williams*, a working-class woman, was not impressed. "The country cannot afford to spend so much money on trips alone. Pickney still ah use pit latrine in these civilised times."
She suggested that to cut cost the Prime Minister should travel with fewer people and stay at cheaper hotels.
The Prime Minister's travels are justified by a past press secretary for former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, Huntley Medley. Heads of government have "work all over the place to do and it (travelling) is a part of their job," he argued.
The communications consultant added: "The Prime Minister's responsibility is to represent the country and that must involve travel."
Big bucks for hotels
Mrs. Simpson Miller spent up to US$975 a night on <A class=kLink oncontex
PM's $10m trips - Simpson Miller racks up big travel bill in seven months
published: Sunday | January 28, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody xVlvo="true">
Tyrone Reid, Enterprise Reporter
Within seven months of ascending to the nation's highest political office in March 2006, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and members of her accompanying delegation have spent close to $10 million on official overseas visits.
The Government approved close to $1 million per <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">trip</SPAN> or $1.4 million per month between April and October, figures contained in official documents obtained through the Access to Information (ATI) Act showed.
But members of the public had mixed reactions about whether these trips were too costly.
"I don't want to diminish the importance of our leaders," said economist and publisher, John Jackson, "but (do they) have to stay in <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">five-star </SPAN><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">hotels</SPAN> when people out here can't even afford to go to hospital?"
Bloated delegations
Mr. Jackson also argued that in this age of advanced technology the Prime Minister does not "really need this huge delegation".
"The question is whether we needed to have spent $10 million," he said.
On the other hand, Lorna Duffus, an entrepreneur, told our news team that the position of the Prime Minister demands a certain level of opulence. "You see true she inna dat status, mi can't say no, she shouldn't be spending so much," Ms. Duffus said when asked to respond to the fact that Mrs. Simpson Miller spent almost US$2,000 for two nights on a hotel room while in New York.
Stacy Williams*, a working-class woman, was not impressed. "The country cannot afford to spend so much money on trips alone. Pickney still ah use pit latrine in these civilised times."
She suggested that to cut cost the Prime Minister should travel with fewer people and stay at cheaper hotels.
The Prime Minister's travels are justified by a past press secretary for former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, Huntley Medley. Heads of government have "work all over the place to do and it (travelling) is a part of their job," he argued.
The communications consultant added: "The Prime Minister's responsibility is to represent the country and that must involve travel."
Big bucks for hotels
Mrs. Simpson Miller spent up to US$975 a night on <A class=kLink oncontex
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