Spanish trip cost US$50K

| 24/03/2011

(CNS): The deputy premier’s recent visit to Barcelona, Spain, to attend the GSMA Mobile World Congress cost CI$41,596.47, according to the results of a freedom of information request. The government delegation, led by Juliana O’ Connor-Connolly, which attended the telecoms industry conference in February included Cline Glidden, Kearney Gomez and Paul Leonce as well as the Director of the Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) David Archbold. The request, which was made by Donald Duck, reveals that Archbold paid for his accommodation and travel costs, which totalled CI$6,926.84 from the ICTA budget, but the cost for the other government delegates came directly from the public purse.

According to the information supplied to Duck, the government delegation, comprising the deputy premier, whose ministry has responsibility for communications, her executive assistant, the chief officer in the ministry and the back bench MLA, spent over CI$4,300 on three hotel rooms for the five night trip and over CI$20,000 on airfares. The delegation also spent over CI$1,361 at the restaurant Santiaguina Barcelona.

In his FOI application Duck also requested documentation relating to any minutes from meetings or memos that would provide evidence of the need for such a delegation to go to the conference. However, the ministry’s information manager said there were no such documents but it was the ministry’s practice that once invitations to “conferences are received and if it is deemed to be beneficial, the minister, permanent secretary and head of department with responsibility for the relevant subject, make efforts to attend,” adding that this was the case with this particular conference.

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association Conference is an annual telecommunications industry event described as the “best venue for mobile industry networking, finding business opportunities, and making deals,” where “more than 1,300 companies displaying the cutting-edge products and technology that will define the mobile future.”

More than 49,000 people predominantly from the commercial sector attended the conference, 80% of which, the association’s website said, came to network. Only 3% of attendees come from government as the event targets the world’s mobile operators, handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, as well as media and entertainment organisations.

The conference presentations from this year’s congress are now available on line at www.mobileworldlive.com.

See the detailed cost spreadsheet released by the ministry below.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Well folks this is howit goes. Paul is the "driva and security officer" but JuJu realised after the first few trips that she could not possibly justify taking her driva and security to countries where he isn’t allowed to drive and where there is no need for security. So Paul got a promotion to "Executive Assistant" to justify the travel and ensure that he could accompany JuJu on her many trips. You doing pretty good Paul…….Bartender….policeman……JuJu’s driver and security officer…..Executive Assistant to JuJu. Damn Kearney betta watch out……Chief Officer/Permanent Secretary next Paul !!!! XXXX

    • Anonymous says:

      Thanks for explaining. Could you also explain how it is that a pious conservative christian hosts and condones dance parties at the Cayman Brac agriculture grounds?

      • Anonymous says:

        I’d be happy to explain that. Its called “backsliding”……..but have no fear dear friend SHE SHALL REPENT in time for 2013……..fear not I say fear not 🙂

      • Madhatter says:

         That’s easy to explain: if MacJuJu doesn’t dance then no harm, no foul!!

  2. Anonymous says:

    I wonder what they are going to do next year when they can’t borrow to waste anymore? I don’t see any benefits accruing to the country from what they have spent/wasted money on.

  3. Anonymous says:

    what with daffy in the pic? looks like he’s doing a hardcore gangster pose or looks like he just got rumbled???

  4. Grimreaper says:

    Take what unnah get, I told you all that we would suffer, but I am suffering with you all and I never voted for them….  Don’t say I never warned you all…

  5. Anonymous says:

    The country is sorely lacking direction because of such decisions that smacks of a lack of understanding as to what is policy. Do they think policy can be made by doing what technocrats should be doing. Someone asks where McKeeva got his civil engineering degree from that qualifies him to go to Venice to look at a dock. So where did JuJu and Kearney etc get their engineering degrees from that qualifies them to look at technology that will make policy. Methinks it is blind leading the blind

    • Lachlan MacTavish says:

      What all voters should be thinking about is how did we allow the political system to get here. When did the voters give the premier and deputy premier a blank check to spend the peoples money. Why are the other elected members allowing unbridled expenditures to occur. How did we get to a place where the two top people get angry at the people for questioning them about the way they spend your money.

      Do the voters understand, do the people in West Bay and everyone who is having a tough time paying their bills realize that since you put Bush and O’connor into power everyone has given them $1000.00. You might as well have taken $1000.00 out of your bank account and given it to them. The peoples money for walls, staff, cars, drivers, first class tickets, security, phones, 5 star hotels, perks, early pensions, huge salaries, slush funds, credit cards and on and on. That doesn’t even include the favors to people to build something or consult, or speech write with the peoples money. I am sure that my calculations are low because we have no idea what is buried in unbalanced and years over due book keeping.

      To add insult to injury they are borrowing the money for their 4 year Donald Trump life style and the people, their children and their grand children have to pay it back.

      If I wanted to pillage the countries purse I would at least try to give the people something to placate them. But we see nothing, no balanced books and budgeting, crime that affects everyone except the leaders, no better healthcare, education system, insurance and social services or increased tourism and professional services industries. Increased duties and taxes increasing the cost of living and no plan for the civil service. 

      Wake up, time for the people to be in charge, its your money.

       

  6. MER says:

    WOW!!! Considering how “broke” government is, this is impressive!!!

    We could have hired two unemployed Caymanians as clerical officers to assist with speeding up the slow, worthless service at our many government offices.

    • Anonymous says:

      If you decide to run come next election you will definitely have my vote.

    • Anonymous says:

      Well, this shows how much they value "their own" people!

      I hope when election time comes no one sells themselves for a fridge or $1000.

  7. Anonymous says:

     Do you fellow Caymanians even know what the GSMA Mobile World Congress is ???  I did a little research (don’t you love Google?)  and found out that this "World Congress" is a cell phone convention!!  They (sales reps.) met from all over the world to discuss things like "smart phone apps.".  The theme of the "GSMA Mobile World Congress" was "Developments that have an impact on the Smartphone App Market."  But don’t take my word for it – "google it" yourself and do a little reading!  What in the world wasour esteemed Deputy Premier doing here?  Is she going to sell smart phones now???  Did they all get a free cell phone??  This is not just humiliating, but should be investigated and publicized.  Did they not know what they were attending?  I don’t know if I am more embarrassed or outraged!  

    • village idiot of absurdistan says:

      Does Cayman still have a Complaints Commissioner? Haven’t heard from the office in donkeys years- perhaps they could be investigating?  

    • Anonymous says:

      Come on now. She HAD to spend $50,000.00 to learn how to communicate with Mac (between Cayman Brac and Grand Cayman) on a cell phone. How the hell else would she get his approval to attend the upcoming super convention in Timbucktoo on the very latest mind boggling advances in toilet technology including how to flush one with a single touch of a lever and how it works even better when it’s full of s_ _ _? Our government NEEDS to be up to speed on these things irrespective of costs so will you please give them a break?    

  8. Dred says:

    I can only hope that all of this pent up anger does not disappear come elections. It is truly amazing how short a memory we have.

    In his last time in office he did wholesale Status grants and we swore he was a demon and was ruining our country and we removed him from office. Now 4 years later here we are dealing with him again cursing him for doing more crap.

    Dear I ask the question what will happen when we go to the polls this next election and the one thereafter.

    What also amazes me is that we pursecuted PPM this last election saying they were so bad yet at least what they spent on we can see and did not disappear before our eyes.

    I dare say I wonder how far our school projects would be along if all this travel funds were focussed at building the schools.

  9. Chet Ebanks says:

    I say to you all who won’t for whatever reason put your name on your post. Come 2013 vote Julie out and show her the door. Instead of hiding behind fake names and Anonymous put your real name. Who are you afraid off? Them now come on, they are no better than you or me, its or money they are wasting with a free hand. We are Caymanians and what we need to do is come together and fight together for the better of this country and show these money spending world travellers that we had had enogh. Come 2013 stand up and voice your views vote them out, vote them out. A very concerned Cayman Bracker.

    • Anonymous says:

       Chet,

      You of all people should know that most of Cayman Brac works for government.  Do you really expect them to sign their names?  Very mysteriously, they will be demoted like quite a few has already been.  There has been quite a few moving around in the Civil Service already in the Brac.

      Hopefully, the uniforms, paved parking lots, fridges, furniture, etc won’t be what carries the votes 2013.

  10. petermilburn says:

    Its so funny reading all these blogs or whatever one wants to call them.Everyone is complaining about all this money spent on the trip to Spain and on so many other so called projects and yes I agree that our deputy Premier did not have to go and take her entourage with her and this is a total waste of taxpayers money.Has anyone seen any report of this trip ?Its purpose?Could this not have been done over the internet?
    What I really getting at here is why dont you all get up and DO SOMETHING about it?I am one of the VERY few that puts my name on here as I have nothing to hide as.I am in reality a guest in your country but yet I stand up and voice my opinion on many subjects and try in most cases to offer a solution to some of the problems we all face on a day to day basis.These people will continue to spend the publics money until enough of you get up off your duffs and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.How long must the country wait until this becomes a fact and not just talk most of which is hidden behind the word ANONYMOUS.
    Actions speak MUCH louder than WORDS folks.
    Yours for a MUCH better Cayman.

    • Shock and Awe says:

      I think Peter folks would vote this party out and put in another if they hadn’t been burned in the same way before. The complaining – anger?- isn’t really funny.  It’s actually sad.  I’m not saying politics in Cayman is much different than anywhere else, it’s just more intense because of it’s size.  The election takes place, then for the next four years people say "my God what are these imbeciles doing?"  It happens everywhere.  The UDP are taking abuse of power to the extreme with their extravagant lifestyle which is most disgusting but in the past the PPM have blundered their way through their stint in power as well.  I honestly don’t think people believe they can do much about it. Given of course the choices. Politics has become a game we all play.  Politicians pretend to have our interests at heart -when they don’t and we pretend we’re involved in a democracy for the people when time and again we are given poor or the same choices.  I’m of the opinion of Mark Twain:  "Don’t vote- it just encourages them". Will that be the most effective use of our votes?  The only power we have. To not use them?  Because as long as we shuffle off to the polls and flip a coin to see what idiots are going to run our country with the limited options available it could be we’re just wasting our vote.

      What if we didn’t cast a vote?  What if a 1% turnout sent a clear unequivocal message we want better choices. We actually demand them. Don’t b.s. us.  I venture it would create chaos and just a little fear in the hearts of every politician who thought all they had to do was tell the best lies.  A shift in the way politics operates. The end of the game playing.  It would also invalidate every bogus political party that pretended to represent the people.  When all they really wanted to do was line their pockets and have a little fun.  The election process would be a farce.  But what have we now?  Think about it.

    • 8th generation Caymanian says:

      You are no longer a guest, Peter. You are one of us. We need more like you.

      Please keep on making your points. Some of us are not in a position to do so openly.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Mcjuju really likes Gomez because he does nothing and makes no objections to her foolish ventures and trips overseas . Rumor in the Glass House is that, although he is 61, she wants him to stay until she leaves government so tough luck for us younger Caymanians who would like a chance at moving up in the civil service.

    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t give up friend. It won’t be too long before she leaves Government… Promise… OK?  

  12. Anonymous says:

    Assuming 4-5 guests, dinner was about what it would be on SMB.

    • Anonymous says:

      Not a chance. Dinner including a bottle of wine on SMB is not 300pp but more around $100-$150pp

      • Lachlan MacTavish says:

        It just doesn’t matter comparing apples for oranges. The bottom line is this was a complete waste of money. I challenge Ms Julianna to publish and justify this ridiculous expenditure. Show the tax payers what they got in return for this trip. We want to see dollars and sense not a one inch report placed on a shelf some where. What did the people get for this foolish trip you went on. 

        • Anonymous says:

          Aye Aye Lachlan. What we have to remember is they didn’t have to WORK for the $50,000.00.

      • Anonymous says:

        4-5 guests adds up to 8-10 people. Right on the money.

  13. Cuba1961 says:

    Did anyone else notice that the visit to this restaurant was on Valentine’s Day!? All I can say is, Love is in the air. 

    that’ll be USD1620.97 please, thank you. cha-ching. 

    Restaurante Santiaguino: Restaurant Reviews 
    “Expensive, food OK, service excellent”

    http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187497-d997319-r38291194-Restaurante_Santiaguino-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

  14. Anonymous says:

    OK so 5 people (thanks for the clarification CNS). So it seems 4 of them shared rooms which is something I suppose. But then again nearly US$5,000 each on airfares suggests that they all flew first class, and that must have been one helluva night or a very fancy restaurant to spend over US$1,600.

    Plus of course there is the fact that this was a completely unnecessary junket and they could have stayed here and employed another Caymanian for a year.

    I don’t know about the rest of you but I would feel pretty grubby draining the public coffers for my own personal gratification in this way.

  15. Pro Caymanian says:

    Now we know why he needs the MEGA MILLION $$$ YACHTS here………….to pay for all of his spending!!!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      Yeah  and screw our North Sound if it chooses to get in the way…

  16. Anonymous says:

    Hey, this is routine. I remember when a member of this team and his assistant went to a "attend a CITES conference in South Africa". Only thing is they never made it to South Africa, instead ended up on a safari in Kenya, all at the taxpayers expense.

    • Anonymous says:

      Was that before or after the ‘fact finding trip’ to Malaysia circa 2007?

      • Anonymous says:

        It was in the mid to late 90’s when John McLean was minister.  This person and his Deputy PS went on the trip.

    • Anonymous says:

      Can CNS do a FOI request on this one too? We the public need to know what such "Men of the Ministry" did, and are obviously still doing with the public purse. How long was the Barcelona conference and did they stop in the UK and if so, who did and forhow long?

      CNS: Anyone can do an FOI and we’ll be happy to publish the results. Donald Duck is not a CNS staff member.

  17. Anonymous says:

    Not that they should have all gone in the first place but CI$20,000 on airfares? How? Go on any travel website and see how cheap airfares are from the UK to Spain. Even flying BA to UK still doesn’t justify CI$20,000….???? If paying Business/First Class on BA then why? Totally unncecessary! Should be ashamed to think you are so superior over your own people to waste their money! Disgusting doesn’t even begin…..

  18. Anonymous says:

    What is really pissing me off is I Dont make nowhere near US$50,000 a year, I find it hard to even make a weekend trip to Miami even if i did manage to go it would take me about 6 months of savings to go for a few days, but here there are just carefreely can go away on this Excursion to Europe wasting away the publics and mine money with out out a care in the world!

    • Anonymous says:

      We have become a nation of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ .

      Them                                                         US

      have our money                                      we have none. 

      are traveling around the world              we can’t afford to leave the island

      eat like royalty                                   we can’t afford food at the grocery store

      have us pay their elec bill                     we sleep with no a/c -too expensive 

      have us buy their car & fuel              we walk because gas is too expensive

      have us pay for their security                 we live in fear of being robbed 

      have us pay to fix their house                we make do with what we have

       

      Anyone else tired of this crap yet ???

  19. Wordsmith says:

    Politicians use a very thin dictionary that is different than the ones you and I can purchase. Words like ‘shame’, ‘trough’ and ‘integrity’ aren’t in it, they’ve been expunged. It’s called, ‘The Doublespeak Lexicon.’

    This specialist dictionary has words like trust, belief and promise, but they have specialist meanings, of course. I once saw a copy, and I seem to remember that ‘trust’ was defined as, ‘the degree to which you can get the average voting sucker to believe your empty promises.’

    A promise was defined as, ‘the fantasy you spin  to convince the average voting sucker to believe your lies concerning the things you have no intention of doing,’ which is a wordy definition, but remember, it was written by a politician.

    I seem to remember ‘belief’ was defined as, ‘the totality of the illusions the average electoral sucker holds regarding the veracity of your political propaganda.’

    But I almost forgot! Truth itself was defined as, ‘the story you tell so beautifully, that you yourself think there might be something in it."

    • Fire the bums, ALL of them!! says:

       Yes, but WHO will replace them?  The same OTHER bums who spent all our money for the past ten years on contracts for buddies XXXXX

      Did HURRICANE IVAN teach us nothing?!?  It showed us that business CAN be interrupted, that paradise is fragile, that we NEED to save for a rainy day (or a cat 5 storm!) and not to go foolishly forward with hugeegos and stupid ideas.

      WHERE?!? are all of our SMART lawyers and bankers who have lived here for years, raised their children "Caymanian" and brought us prosperity?  PLEASE come to our aid.  YOU made the financial industry a success, please come and rescue our islands from our village idiots.

       

       

       

      • Lachlan MacTavish says:

        13:26…..there are some good qualified people in the assembly now. There are others as well willing to run. Come election time a cabinet, not one person, needs to work for the people. 5 men need to unite the country and all MLA’s. I truly believe this can be accomplished so long as all running next election create good manifesto’s for the people. That the practice of buying an election with favors, washing machines, construction jobs is shunned by the people who would like to see their country  blossom again…..

      • village idiot of absurdistan says:

         howdid I get thrown into this equation- I am not even a career politician.

  20. On the Bright Side says:

    It’s not all gloom and doom. I noticed that there are 5 airfares but only 4 hotel rooms. Anyone know which two shared a room to save us some money?

    • Can't Win says:

      Doesn’t anybody read the articles before they comment. the communications guy paid for his own accommodation

      • Anonymous says:

        Yes, we did thanks. ICTA paid for Dave Archbold’s room and the ministry paid for 3 rooms to accommodate the other 4 on the trip. Personally, I would like to thank the two who volunteered to share a room to save us all a bit of money. Could we know who these two patriots are so we can thank them personally when we see them?

  21. Anonymous says:

    Is anyone else confused? "The government delegation, led by Juliana O’ Connor-Connolly, which attended the telecoms industry conference in February included Cline Glidden, Kearney Gomez and Paul Leonce as well as the Director of the Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) David Archbold" then: "the government delegation, comprising the deputy premier, whose ministry has responsibility for communications, her executive assistant, the chief officer in the ministry and the back bench MLA" Is that 5 people? 9 People? Or 8 people given JOCC is the deputy and mentioned twice?

    CNS: Five people. From the Ministry – JOCC the deputy premier, KG the chief officer, CG the MLA and PB the executive assistant/bodyguard/driver. From ICTA – the director Dave Archbold.

    • nope says:

       You forgot to add "security blanket" to the aforementioned list of duties CNS….

    • Anonymous says:

      I am confused. Having travelled extensively around Spain for many years, not only have I found it cheap, I have also found it very safe.

      Who needs a body guard in Spain?

  22. Anonymous says:

    Of all the countries I have visited in Europe, Spain was the cheapest!!  Therefore, to spend $1,300.00 on a restaurant bill seems like a lot!!!!

  23. Francisco Franco says:

    So why only three hotel rooms for four people?

  24. nina lucas says:

    Donald Duck? How can we as readers of your publication possibly take you seriously. Ridiculous!

    • The Beaver says:

      Nina Lucas – Who dis sourpuss?  Daffy, dat you???  The Beaver

  25. Anonymous says:

    “conferences are received and if it is deemed to be beneficial”

    there is absolutely no possible benefit from having these people attend this conference. this is gross negligence and the persons that took a vacation should refund the money they spent.

    keep in mind the same could be said for most of the ministers’ travel.

    if I had the time, I would be contacting the organizations, committees, external governments, etc and find out if CIG representatives even attended the meeting or conference. I would wager that all these meetings are with very low level representatives that has no real benefit. Check out the calendar for the US Treasury – “On Bush’s first port of call on Wednesday in Washington DC he is scheduled for talks with the US Treasury” – who exactly is he meeting with? Wonder if he just sits in the lobby for a couple hours then calls it a productive meeting!

  26. Anonymous says:

    I dont know what all the fuss is about. JuJu is a Christian and often quotes the bible so she must be a good person.

    It is very important for someone of her stature to know what cellphones are available so she can advise her constituents what blackberry to buy next and help LIME to bring in the right ones.

    This is a very big job and would certainly need an assistant to go with her. These expenses are fully justified.

    A loyal supporter of Goverment

    • Anonymous says:

      Majority votes put these people into office again….unfortuntely you have to take your licks. You had a chance to put new people in, but no, you voted the same and look where we are at today. I am sure next year the same party will be voted in again lol lol lol…I have never seen people with such short term memories as the Caymanian people.

  27. Anonymous says:

    MEET EM AT THE AIRPORT! Nobody has to say anything. Just show up when one of these junkets is returning and WATCH. 10 or 20 people the first time. I really think if these ‘troughers’ stepped off the plane and just a couple hundred of their people witnessed them returning with their bellies full of wine, european food and OUR MONEY, things would start to change….quickly.

    • Anonymous says:

      Would we get paid as ‘extras’ for appearing in this movie at the airport….::))

      • Anonymous says:

        No, we would get our names on a “bully list” same as the 5 who tried to fight the illegal appointment of hte 2 BT MLA’s and were threatened with bankruptcy for doing what they believed was the right thing to do.

        • Anonymous says:

          get bullied now, or be BS’ed all your life. The Troffers LOVE to hear comments like yours…. they count (money) on it! 

        • Anonymous says:

          They may bully 5, but will they bully 50?  okay, then show em 250. Have you seen the video of the kid in Australia whipping the punk bullying him?

          At some point THEY NEED TO BE BULLIED. And I’m telling ya, it would be as easy as showing up at the airport. 

      • Anonymous says:

        it’s kind of like turning in evidence to the police … for free… it’s the right thing to do. 

  28. FSM says:

    Are the member of all these travel delegations required to submit a public report about their findings/results when they come home? If some is classified then at least an overll description.

    If not, they should. That way these travels are a benefit to all and it would work to justify their trips. So in this case I would like to see 3 reports done by each member (not their staff).

  29. Anonymous says:

    "Archbold paid for his accommodation and travel costs, which totalled CI$6,926.84 from the ICTA budget, but the cost for the other government delegates came directly from the public purse" Aren’t ICTA funds ultimately also public funds? Therefore isn’t Archbold’s use of ICTA funds also the use of public funds?

    CNS Note: The ICTA, which is a semi-autonomous authority, only receives around $300,000 from government per annum and generates more than $1milllion of its own budget through licensing, so it’s a little less directly public money.

    • Absurdistani says:

      Agree thatthe wording of that sentence in the article could be improved.

      However, if any of any of the attendees could justify the trip it would be Archbold who is heads the ICTA which is responsible for regulatory policy recommendations related to Cayman’s telecommunication market etc.

      Regulators and regulations are in danger of being out-of-date extremely quickly in the mobile phone market due to the high rate of change.

      Say we also give Kearney a pass due to his high degree of involvment with hurricane/disaster preparedness etc. But, as for the others, “just another day in Absurdistan”.

      • Anonymous says:

        Actually, Kearney didn’t pay a registration fee so exactly what did he go for is my question?

        • Concerned Caymanian says:

          Perhaps Kearney needed new cowboy boots made from some exotic Spanish leather.

  30. Anonymous says:

    It would be interesting to read their trip reports.

    Trip reports are typically required of someone who is travelling for a specific purpose at the public expense.

    The trip report summarizes the ackomplishments of the trip; in other words, it must explicitly outline the benefits that accrued from the trip so a rational cost/benefit analysis can be done.

    CNS, this would make good fodder for an FOI request. How about the same for Mac’s trip to Venice?

  31. Anonymous says:

    Perhaps I missed this: who is Paul Leonce?

    CNS: He is the deputy premier’s ‘executive assistant’……….

    • Anonymous says:

      Driva.

    • Anonymous says:

      He is her driver!!! Why would he need to be on any trip??

      • The Beaver says:

        That’s because he needed a little brushing up too… The Beaver

        • Philip says:

          oh come on, Paul  come a long way considering that one a couple of years ago he was the bartender at beach club, XXXXX

          • Anonymous says:

            This is so sad. I know for a fact that a CAYMANIAN born police officer applied for this position but was never ever contacted, yet a ex bartender XXXX policeman from St Lucia was hired. Hmmm… makes one wonder.

      • Anonymous says:

        How long are we going to ignore the obvious????? 

    • Anonymous says:

      In the past he was deputy premier’s security, then driver and now ‘executive assistant’. Has he had a change of title and a change in pay?

    • Anonymous says:

      CNS: What is the role of her Personal Assistant? It seems that she only takes this Executive Assitant on intl travels these days!! How many Deputy Chief Officers in that Ministry?

    • Anonymous says:

      Who shared room with who?

    • Anonymous says:

      Isnt this the personal assistant who has his accomodations paid for when he is with her in the Brac?

  32. Anonymous says:

    Wow. That trip was more expensive than the salary that was paid to the employee we were forced to let go – to save money for our cash-strapped government.

    Pigs at a trough.

  33. Dolla$$ a run says:

    Their financial strategy is: Making the rest of government and the public save money so they can spend spend spend. Here comes the Conman with his Con plan. Yes unnnah bunch of idiots who voted them in. Honestly what exactly did you all expect them to do?

  34. Nice Caymanian says:

    Over $1300 on a restaurant bill? Julianna must have gone to sleep full that night! Bang up belly!

  35. ANONYMOUS says:

    It was a poor example and a bad role model from the relevent ministry involed.

    When every body is supposed to be tightening their financial belts during these hard times, it is a real shame to become aware of this huge expenditure.

    If at all there should have been attendence from Cayman, it should have been the technical person in the ICTA and representatives from Lime and Digicel etc. There was no need for the MInister nor her Chief Officer to go.

    If I had my way, they must be asked to pay back the treasury for their costs and so too Mr Glidden. Please do what is morally right you all.

  36. Lachlan MacTavish says:

    Do not voters see how utterly ridiculous and out of control the 2 leaders of the country are. Useless 50k for what, nothing, no return, nothing for the people. It is amazing that supposedly intelligent voters put up with this. I bet the Bush Venice trip is 100k. Just foolish.

  37. Anonymous says:

    Who is Paul Leonce? Is he a government employee? If yes what does he do?

  38. Anonymous says:

    If you ever noticed how much time she spends sending texts then you would realize that it is vital that she knows of the latest telephones.
    Forget “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego” we need to have a contest called Where in the world will Mac or JuJu go next

  39. Anonymous says:

     I don’t see a travel advance for Kearney Gomez nor a registration fee.  There isn’t a registration fee for Ju Ju either.  Is there a reason for that?

    • Anonymous says:

      Now you see you just don’t understand protocol. Protocol requires that somebody has to do those city tours and visit the shoe shops – they have some really nice men’s boots as well and besides the Spanish economy is in trouble and it is the duty of the Cayman Islands to subsidize Spain as a result of the fact that Cuba used to be a Spanish colony and they also used to send pirates to visit Cayman. You also seem to forget that somebody has to carry the shoes after they have been purchased. Besides maybe they were economising by not actually going to conference that was the excuse for visiting Barcelona – it is a beautiful city after all. Stop being so cynical.

  40. Scrooge McDuck says:

    My nephew Donald did an excellent job on this one.  Quack.  It was obviously public money well spent because..

    because..

    let me think

    because

    quack now they know what Barcelona looks like and they didn’t before

    wait

    the food was good?

    no??

    it gave Juliana a chance to brush up on her Spanish?

    I know there’s something

    Because it was different!!!

    The expenses of Spain fall mainly on the plain. That’s you and me.

     

     

    • Anonymous says:

      or someone else a chance to brush something else … just saying

    • Anonymous says:

      Surely the expenses were mainly on the plane?

      • Anonymous says:

        As someone who travels to Europe at least once a year during peak seasons from the Cayman Islands, both on the direct BA flight and via the states, I can guarantee you that these plane fares are NOT the cheapest tickets available. I have never paid more than $1100 CI for my return ticket – a plane ticket that costs $5000+ CI is BUSINESS or FIRST CLASS all the way. Maybe all these fat cats can’t fit their fat a***s into an economy / premium economy seat.

  41. Anonymous says:

    They are all a WASTE…waste of time, waste of space, waste of votes, waste of energy and waste of our money.

  42. Madhatter says:

    Go on there McJuJu! You go girl! You looked us in the eyes when you were campaigning knowing you were going to do this to us didn’t you? Do ya feel good about your christian self now that you got where ya are now? And, on the backs of your people. Good for you.

    • Anonymous says:

      I very seriously wonder if ‘Ju Ju’ can show the people of the Cayman Islands what she got us for our $50,000.00. The sick jokes from these people continue to get worse. Maybe ‘Ju Ju’ can now qualify for a job at Lime and leave our pockets alone. If THAT is all we get for our $50,000.00 that would most certainly be worth it.

  43. Anonymous says:

    The politicians who wasted this money should be ashamed of themselves but I suspect that their bloated sense of entitlement makes any shame impossible.

    At least the Ministry produced the information that was requested. Maybe that is something positive. Maybe it is just an illustration of the disdain that these politicians feel for the people that pay their salaries and their travel bills.

  44. Anonymous says:

     wow, this is freaking disgusting!

  45. Shannon Emslie says:

    Can anyone tell me how much was spent on another trip that JOCC and company took to Whitehorse Yukon, Canada for a conference?
    I would not normally ask or comment….however the “snotty” attitude she displayed to the people of the extreme north left a very sour taste in their mouths….NOT a very good representation of the people of the Cayman Islands!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      That’s not a snotty attitude, that’s her trougher’s attitude of christian love! 

  46. Anonymous says:

    $250 each of our money for a nice dinner out for the Minister and entourage – that is more than some families have for food for a month.

    • Anonymous says:

      It is about time that we do something about this barefoot girl. After all Mack travels alot I agree but he sosent travel with no executive Aid.n another note, if a classie man like Mr Archibold could go on the same trip and the cost was just under $7000 then for the three of them my additions tell me that 3×7 =21. So the most that this holiday should cost us is $21000. It is a crying shame and nobody to stop her. The only one that made sense out of this trip is Mr Archibald .hy do people that have no training in this field go on a trip like this and waste OUR money. Mack needs to wake up cause this barefoot girl is going to cost him the next election. We want this spending of OUR moneys to stop now. Just look at all of the give away paving that is going on and this will not stop now. What about the people in Grand Cayman? Do you think that that it is fair to them? Paving and Hurricane Hylton while the folks in Cayman dont even have a bluff with homes nor a hotel shelter. LET US PUT A STOP TO HER WE THE PUBLIC IS HER BOSS.

      • Anonymous says:

        Looks to me like people are making hay whilst the sun is still shining!!!! I bet there is more going on that needs sunlight too.