$9 million for Caricom summit

THE cost of last week's 45th Caricom heads of government summit was $9 million or less, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said on Tuesday.

During a virtual media conference, Imbert rubbished claims that the cost was in the hundreds of millions.

Imbert called the press conference to address concerns raised by Opposition MP Saddam Hosein about the exemption Imbert signed to allow the procurement of goods and services outside the legal framework of the Procurement Act for the summit.

Asked if he was going to tell Parliament the cost and who the suppliers were for the event, Imbert said: “I am not the procurer of goods and services with respect to that matter. I made that clear.”

He said he expected a statement would be made, since “the government has nothing to hide.”

He added that the numbers he saw and heard in the public are wrong, and from his vantage point the cost is in the region of $9 million or less.