by Linda Straker
- In December 2022, Parliament was informed international travel for July to December totalled EC$509,578.48
- Delegation members not available within Ministry of Finance
- Total cost of each trip is not readily available within Ministry of Finance
Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall has informed the Lower House of Parliament that his Ministry is unable to provide Parliament with the list of names of each delegation who travelled on behalf of the Government for the period 23 June 2022 to 31 May 2023.
“This information is not available within the Ministry of Finance as the Ministry of Finance is not responsible for the approval of travel across the Government service. The Ministry of Finance will undertake to research this information but cannot provide a defined timeframe for the submission of the information,” Cornwall said in response to the question which was asked by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Mitchell.
The Minister’s response was, “The total cost of each trip is not readily available within the Ministry of Finance. That said, the Ministry of Finance can provide the total cost of travel paid out of the Consolidated Fund by month or year to date if requested.
The details of official Government travel paid outside of the Consolidated Fund are not available within the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance will undertake to research this information but cannot provide a defined timeframe for the submission of the information.”
In December 2022, Parliament was informed by Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell who was then the Finance Minister, that international travel for July to December totalled EC$509,578.48. Cornwall was appointed as the Finance Minister on 1 April.
The mission statement of the Finance Ministry is to effectively plan, generate and allocate for resources, through the implementation of Fiscal and Economic Policies and the facilitation of Social and Environmental Policies, in cooperation with other agencies, thereby providing and enabling sustainable growth and development.
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Now this a real disappointed based on the fact that this new administration has all the information in order to present a clear and transparent document listing all travelling information.
That is not a good start as we have other areas where expenses are out of control which will play vital role in evaluating the management of such.
This administration has to look at ways of cutting cost especially in the private renting sector in parishes like St Patrick’s.
Wow…. This is a lot for that short period of time. This is also concerning when they are claiming the country does not have any money