With our premier, Hon. McKeeva Bush having to defend his position of excessive travelling overseas in times of austerity we now have the revelation of his deputy, Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly who has accumulated a bill to the public purse of CI$213,000 to pay for travel and accommodation since August 2009.

The Deputy Premier who is also Minister for Agriculture, Works and Communications has had 21 official trips abroad. In a Freedom of Information request by CNS it was revealed she has been away for an accumulative total of more than FIVE months!

Our World Traveller has attended conferences that included telecommunications, agriculture, women’s affairs and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meetings.

A two week trip to Doha, Qatar, for the 25th Universal Postal Congress, cost us more than $41,000. It was such an important conference she had with her, the ministry’s chief officer, Alan Jones, and her executive aide, Paul Leonce.

When she went to a one week telecommunications conference in Barcelona she took with her (once again Leonce), the permanent secretary and UDP backbench MLA Cline Glidden. That one only cost us $35,000!

So why does she have to visit overseas so many times and what does it achieve as real benefits to these islands? Do we see any published reports from her regarding these visits? Do we see anything that could possibly be termed of monetary value to us? Has the travelling to these conferences produced new and innovative ways she has incorporated in her Agriculture, Works and Communications Ministries?

And …. Why does she have to have her executive aide, Paul Leonce by her side at ALL times? The job description of the position is to provide “direct services” to the deputy premier. Now that covers exactly what?

Well, we have learnt the person appointed to that position “must have a minimum of three years in the RCIPS or another reputable “police service, security service or armed forces” who can communicate security related concepts. The job involves a degree of privacy and the post holder is expected to work outside of normal business day hours.

“Among the duties listed is the requirement to oversee the physical needs of the deputy premier, to manage the implementation of the security policy, resolve security issues as they occur and to offer security advice over proposed engagements.”

Mr. Leonce was a serving officer with the RCIPS and the post comes with a salary of $35-47,000 per annum.

So that answers one question – almost a complete waste of money but what about the others?

We MUST have answers. It is our money and without anything forthcoming, or seen to have been forthcoming, it will be looked by us as a colossal waste of time and money.

Even if we do get the answers, like the executive aide, it will most likely still be a colossal waste of time and money.

No value to us at all it would seem.