Ministers and civil servants have run up nearly $143,000 in credit card charges this year alone, it was revealed on Friday.

And Government admitted that policy had changed and now all Ministers -- not just the Premier and Minister of Finance as under the last Government -- had Government credit cards, as well as 24 civil servants.

Finance Minister Eugene Cox said Premier Jennifer Smith had a $10,000 limit on her card -- the same as former Premier Pamela Gordon -- but that other Ministers now had limits of between $5,000 to $7000.

And Ms Gordon said: "We're concerned that, for a new administration, which has made a large commitment to the people of Bermuda, that they haven't lived up to that.

"The only commitment they seemed to have lived up to is excesses for themselves.'' Ms Gordon added: "The credit card bills seem somewhat excessive when you look at the costs -- and that appears to be just credit card spending, not flights and hotels.

"If you marry that to up to the other costs -- a few hundred thousand -- on travelling expenses, it seems ridiculous.

"But I want to make sure that that $142,000 is not included in these other expenses we were given earlier.'' Ms Gordon added: "It seems as though they were being spendthrift -- they've said it was their first year and that they had to go and meet people and introduce themselves.

"But they're spending like drunken sailors.'' She was speaking after Mr. Cox answered a series of questions on Government spending in Friday's session of the House of Assembly.

Mr. Cox also listed the daily expense rates for Ministers and civil servants.

See Editorial on Page 4 Policy change gives all Gov't ministers credit cards He said: "I think the former Government policy was to give $271 a day to senior civil servants with lesser civil servants being given $225 a day.

"With respect to some of our Ministers, it's $150 a day.'' Mr. Cox stressed: "The Government's policy regarding credit cards is consistent with the practice which was in place under the former Government.

"The use of credit cards is restricted to official Government business.

"Use of credit cards for any other purpose is strictly prohibited.'' And he promised to check on how much of the daily expense rate had been deducted from credit cards issued to Government.

Ms Gordon also claimed that, at one point, a total of eight Government Parliamentarians were overseas at the same time.

She said: "That would be unheard of under a UBP Government -- what we really need to know is if that number of people need to go to conferences and if there is any benefit from eight Ministers you don't get with just one.'' Mr. Cox said there were still "outstanding accounts with respect to one of her former Ministers''.

In response to another question from Ms Gordon, he said that -- as far as he could recall -- the Premier got a credit card before the trip to a February international economic forum which was held in Davos, Switzerland.

And Progressive Labour Party backbencher Ottiwell Simmons asked Mr. Cox to check if there were any outstanding credit card balances from the previous administration.