Cabinet Ministers who go overseas on official business get a $150 daily allowance, as well as the use of a credit card.But figures for how much they spent during trips abroad in the last fiscal year are not readily available, according to the Ministry of Finance. Assistant Financial Secretary Anthony Manders told The Royal Gazette: “The ‘per diem’ allowance that Ministers receive when travelling overseas has not been changed it is $150 per day.“Ministers receiving ‘per diems’ are allowed to use credit cards as well when on official business abroad. This policy has been in place for a while.”Asked for the total amount spent on Cabinet Ministers’ per diems during 2010/11, as well as the total amount they charged to credit cards, Mr Manders said: “All of the information requested would be recorded in the travel general ledger account and it would be time consuming to extract cost specific to Ministers.”Details of transport and accommodation costs for overseas trips for Ministers for the last fiscal year could also not be provided.Opposition Leader Kim Swan said the lack of information was “disappointing” and not in line with Government’s commitment to transparency.And he questioned whether the travel expenses policy for Ministers should be revisited, in light of the current economic climate. “Thirteen years ago, the PLP Government was ushered in and promised to operate under the ‘sunshine of public scrutiny’,” Mr Swan said last night. “Unfortunately, that was not what we received.”He claimed the failure to provide figures for travel expenses could “give the appearance of Government being unwilling to again share public information”.“So much for the true spirit of PATI (public access to information) and the right to know,” he said. “We intend on asking parliamentary questions but must wait until the House [of Assembly] returns from Easter recess on May 13.“A truly transparent government would address these matters head on, especially during these trying economic times.”The lack of information on travel expenses comes after repeated calls for Ministers, most of whom earn $168,000 a year, to take a pay cut.Mr Swan, who earns $86,390 as Opposition Leader, said: “‘Do more with less’ is the catchy slogan our Premier has imposed on Bermuda. Unfortunately, we are witnessing ‘do as I say, not as I do’ by our Government Cabinet Ministers.”He said if Cabinet truly planned to “reset the dial” on public spending then Ministers had to be prepared to share some of the pain.“The people are having to change because they are living and feeling tough times, especially those at the lowest end of the economic ladder.“We have witnessed the travel budget for Government Ministers grow exponentially since 1998. This proves that austerity remains only a word in the dictionary but unfortunately its meaning has not been practised by the PLP Cabinet Ministers.“What will it take for the Premier and her Cabinet Ministers to humble themselves and lead by example?”Mr Swan highlighted what he described as “excessive travel, larger GP cars and open credit cards” for Ministers in the Opposition’s Throne Speech reply in November 2008.A request for comment was made to the Premier’s spokeswoman yesterday afternoon but one was not received by press time.l Useful websites: www.plp.bm, www.ubp.bm