In response to questions that were raised by the parliamentary opposition, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance has revealed that the expenses incurred during the official overseas trips of both President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo have accumulated to less than $60 million from 2020 to present.
In President Ali’s case, the airfare and out of pocket expenses cover the years 2020 to 2023, including trips to the United Nations General Assembly (2021 and 2022), Caribbean Community Heads of Government meetings, energy conferences in Trinidad and Tobago and investment forums in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The President’s airfare from 2020 to 2023 have so far totaled $32.1 million (or US$150,964). Meanwhile, meals and out of pocket expenses and accommodation cost $3.8 million (or US$17,925). This means that total expenses for that period, in relation to travels, totalled $35.9 million (or US$168,889).
Meanwhile, the Vice President’s travel expenses from 2021 to 2023 were reviewed, including trips to the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), to India, Ghana and the UAE for furthering bilateral relations and to the CERA week energy conference in Houston, Texas. His airfare totaled $18.1 million (or US$85,274), while out of pocket expenses totalled $2.1 million (or US$10,015). In total, the Vice President’s expenses totalled $20.2 miillion (or US$95.2 million).
The benefits derived from these trips were also stated, including “repairing the damage done between 2015-2020 to Guyana’s international credibility” and regaining Guyana’s leadership position on climate service issues, as well as promoting the investment opportunities in Guyana and establishing new embassies in Qatar and the UAE.
As much as 50 Memorandum of Understandings (MOU), agreements or joint statements were signed during these trips, aimed at ensuring international cooperation.
Further, these trips were also aimed at garnering knowledge and experience from other countries on developing the oil and gas sector.
One crowning achievement of these trips was also Guyana securing a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), with the single highest attainable votes.
