And even in austere times for government - a good many gallons of that gas will go into government vehicles. No question, Ministers love to sport fancy rides, many of them beefy, eight cylinder gas guzzlers.
So, we asked the Prime Minister, in austere times for the public purse, can such extravagance be afforded?
Here's what he said:
Jules Vasquez
"Will there be a cap on what the poet might call, mocking symbols of wealth - these luxury SUV's, which we see ministers in?"
Prime Minister Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"Certainly, I will not change any vehicle. I have not known of - well, let me put it this way. Ministers that have come in; there is a cap on how much is spent for their vehicles. So anybody who gets a luxury Land Cruiser paid the difference between what Government is prepared to spend, and what it costs. And this has happened. The last administration, the Deputy Prime Minister wanted a Lexus; he paid the difference. He gets - the spending on his vehicle is a little more than for other ministers because he is the deputy. But if you want more than the Government is prepared to afford, then you must find the difference. I think that the cap is something like $70,000 duty free. So if you want anything better than that, you pay."
In other news coming out of the Press conference, the Prime Minister today announced that Foreign Trade Ambassador Bert Tucker has been reassigned and will now be the Prime Minister's Press Secretary. It was also announced that Amparo Masson has been hired to act as Government's liaison with the Private Sector.
There was a lot more newsworthy coming out of today's press conference, including the Prime Minister's explanation of why he's continuing with the gang truce - even in the face of full out gang warfare. We'll have that for you later on...
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