A travel expenses reporting policy for Cayman Islands government ministers was released last September and has resulted in at least some public reporting of business related travel, Premier Alden McLaughlin said Friday.
In response to a civil service directive that all senior officials’ travel and credit card expenses be published on a monthly basis starting Sept. 1, Mr. McLaughlin said details about several of his own overseas trips to attend conferences or business meetings had already been released via press communiques or on the Office of the Premier website. However, there is no across-the-board policy that elected members of government must proactively make public details of their own travel spending.
The Cayman Compass could not locate the premier’s travel details on the office’s website Friday and was told by a spokesperson that the information would be re-posted shortly.
However, the newspaper has previously received several unsolicited reports from the premier’s office of spending totaling nearly $65,000 for five business trips taken by the premier, associated civil servants and other elected government members. The travel costs included:
$19,000 to send Mr. McLaughlin, Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton and three senior civil servants to London in November for the annual Joint Ministerial Council meeting. The costs included airfare and per diem allowances.
Nearly $17,500 for the premier, his senior political adviser and the Cabinet secretary to travel to London for a Chatham House conference in February. The price tag includes airfare, hotels and per diem allowances.
About $2,300 to send the premier and his press secretary to New York City to ring the opening bell at NASDAQ at the invitation of Oxbridge Reinsurance. Costs included airfare, hotel rooms and transportation.
A trip to London in March for international meetings on Islamic Finance was attended by Mr. McLaughlin, George Town MLA Roy McTaggart and civil servant Eric Bush at a cost of around $19,000. The cost included airfare, hotel stays and per diem allowances.
A late March-early April trip to Tampa to study potential landfill solutions costing $6,756 was attended by Mr. McLaughlin, Health Minister Osbourne Bodden and two civil servants. The costs included hotel rooms, airfare transportation and per diem expenses.
In addition to the earlier press statements, Mr. McLaughlin’s office published details of a $4,222.79 trip to Trinidad last fall for a Caribbean community organization conference. The conference was attended by Mr. McLaughlin and Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose.
According to Mr. McLaughlin, as of September 2013, government ministers are required to complete a form detailing specific expenditures while on official travel.
The form, called the “Official Travel Reporting Template,” must be filled out by the minister or their staff within seven days of the minister’s return from the trip.
“The purpose of this official travel reporting form for ministers is to proactively publish travel-related information,” the form states. “Expected benefits of so doing include transparency, accountability for public funds and minimizing media and/or [Freedom of Information] queries.”
A similar form is used by civil servant staff who travel on government business.
Spending on official travel by the two previous government administrations has also been reported by the Compass.
Between 2005 and 2012, the expenses associated with the official travel of government ministers and their travel companions included: Former Premier McKeeva Bush [$1 million], House Speaker and former Deputy Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly [$200,000], former Education Minister Alden McLaughlin [$170,000], former Works Minister Arden McLean [$130,000], Former Education Minister Rolston Anglin [$130,000], former Health Minister Mark Scotland [$110,000], former Community Affairs Minister Mike Adam [$23,000], former Health Minister Anthony Eden [$17,000] and former District Administration Minister Kurt Tibbetts [$15,000].
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This is just so funny! 2300 for TWO people to go and ring a bell in New York!
This government is broke, people can’t pay their light bills and this is how they spend public funds! Nothing short of disgusting and far from leadership.