Thursday, August 17, 2023
By EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
JACK Thompson, the permanent secretary of the Independence Secretariat, said the cost of this year’s independence celebrations remains uncertain.
“My pencil is in figures right now, and I’m on the computer even as we speak,” he told The Tribune yesterday.
“We’re still working out. We’re still paying bills.”
Celebrations related to the 50th anniversary of independence were elaborate.
The calendar of events included several local galas and events held abroad in various cities, including London, Miami and Atlanta.
Last year, the government allocated $5.2m for the celebrations.
When St Anne’s MP Adrian White asked why the Cabinet Office budget for ceremonial events increased from $750k to $5.2m, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said the independence anniversary would be a “big, big deal for us and we are going to celebrate it thoroughly”.
“There is a secretariat that has been set up for this event. There will be many, many events leading up to the actual 50th celebration. We happen to be very excited about this,” he said in the House of Assembly.
Comments
realfreethinker says...
Good luck getting that information
Posted 17 August 2023, 8:22 a.m. Suggest removal
Sickened says...
I bet you it's over $15 million. The budgeted $5.2 million barely covered the money spent on the celebrations at the Fort. I was going to use the term 'covered the cost', but we well know that the actually cost and the money spent are two very different figures.
Posted 17 August 2023, 8:58 a.m. Suggest removal
ExposedU2C says...
Just think, if this PLP government can't figure out the costs of this one event, how in the hell is the ministry of finance able to figure out each year the budgeted costs of the entire government. The annual budget government produces is truly a work of fiction, much like the ficitious statistics produced by the department of statistics. From bottom to top, government is a cesspool of the grossly incompetent with Davis, Halkitis and Wilson leading the charge of the incompetent.
Posted 17 August 2023, 9:01 a.m. Suggest removal
moncurcool says...
You are so correct.
This really has me nervous. These people do not know how to work a budget or balance sheet.
How the hell you trying to figure out what was spent?
Imagine if businesses in this country operated like this NEW Day government?
Posted 17 August 2023, 4 p.m. Suggest removal
LastManStanding says...
You're wrong, Davis et. al. are not incompetent, they know exactly how dumb and stupid the electorate is and this is the BS line they sell them to cover up their malfeasance.
Posted 18 August 2023, 3:24 p.m. Suggest removal
FreeportFreddy says...
Brace! Brace! Brace! Coming in hot!!
This is going to hurt.
Posted 17 August 2023, 9:18 a.m. Suggest removal
TalRussell says...
Comrades, haven't we had this conversation before, including over the cost fly the premiership's entourage:to Bermuda, --- Comrade Jack Thompson, the permanent secretary is a 'sheep' of a Secretariat. ---And when a Secretariat starts behaving like 'sheep' --- That leaves a premiership of Wolves, --- Yes?
Posted 17 August 2023, 1:10 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
**Same tired lack of accountability dodging**. Before you do the celebrations you document the cost. This why the entire country failing and a 20m dollar baseball stadium end up costing 70m... so they say. It een finish yet, I thought there was still discussion of landscaping and bathrooms?... dont quite recall
Posted 17 August 2023, 1:36 p.m. Suggest removal
TalRussell says...
The basic cause of the fuzzy arithmetic that has resulted in Independence Secretariat. --- 'Stll' left to work out’ the 'true price tag' for the 'post' Jubilee celebrations, --- Does it mean ---- Tis problem was caused whenever there are, --- 'Many fingers' in the Popoulaces'Purse, --- Yes?
Posted 17 August 2023, 2:07 p.m. Suggest removal
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