Questions are being raised in the wake of a report that Finance Minister Audley Shaw has racked up cell phone bills amounting to $8.3 million.
RJR News reported on Monday that the bills were generated from March last year to February this year.
Trade unionist Helene Davis Whyte, in response, told RJR News that there is need for a detailed explanation for what she described as alarmingly high call expenses.
In December, Mr. Shaw’s cell phone bill reached over $838,000 and more than $1.5 million in August.
In October the bill was more than $4.2 million.
During those three months the Finance Ministry said Mr. Shaw travelled overseas for official and urgent personal reasons.
A query with the service provider later showed that the charges were due to data usage while roaming.
“If it happened in one month and it didn’t happen in succeeding months then you could probably accept the explanation,” Davis Whyte said, expressing skepticism about the explanation given.
The Finance Ministry reported that Mr. Shaw has paid roughly $2.6 million for personal roaming data usage.
Mrs Davis Whyte has also made recommendations regarding cell phones issued to ministers of government.
“I would agree with a cap being placed (on the size of phone bills)… and that they should develop some kind of protocol with respect of WiFi in areas where it is possible so to do,” she said.
The fuc*k :matabelo 8 mill? Was Shaw having international phone sex daily? This is a damn shame,but not surprise at the blatant fuc*kery Jamaican politicians do. I refuse to believe that no one in the finance department didn’t notice this exuberant amount of charges to his monthly phone bill. And who sign off on his monthly bill in the finance office? They all need to be fired.
SO FROM MAY 1 – MAY 31 THE BOSS NEVER HAVE ANYONE TO TALK WITH
WEH DI RASS!!!
General account should have the service disconnected once the usage is over the plan amount.
One frigging million too damn much! Base on the dollar each of them shouldn’t go over a $100,000. Frigging parasites!
ah must mars him ah call?
No man!! tek whey di phone Asap. give dat man a landline.
A mussi Jesus him a call or dung a Afghanistan.
Too much Jamaicans play politics with serious issues like crime n corruption! !Remember the huge uproar when then pnp jr minister Arnaldo run up significantly less than this 8mil!!?
Seemed like we were going to tar n feather him and he offered the same roaming excuse. JAMAICA will begin to heal when we stop seeing things through orange and green n yes Red yeyes!!special commendations to those who equally condemned both ministers..if it was wrong then, well surely it’s wrong now! !$2million paid for personal calls OMG!!
Suck yub fada all corrupt politicians!
A muss jesus on dat telephone. Him nuh get free nights and data. Nuff kids dat cuda school
The whole system is a lie and a bag of corruption, just about all black countries are governed by the west from behind the scenes, the west gives the black politicians foreign aid, which is really bribery money… The politicians can have anything they want but must obey the rules which means holding down their own people to please the west while they lavish in untold amount of money… It is all a sham black people….
JA independence is a lie, the governor general reports directly to the queen of England, and nothing which is serious can be past without that consent…
Den if a Jesus the calls would be free. Is just a career of recklessness and lack of respect for taxpayers money. If dis ole Dinosaur did have to pay out him own pocket you would see how quickly him activate airplane mode.
Mi know Audrey Shaw Naw travel more Dan me and me never run up anywhere close to say madness called phone bill, a house money dat. First thing me do a try get a local sim weh mi gwine be, is always the cheapest method. Nuff countries have dirt cheap cellphone rates and 99% a hotels offer free wifi and a business centre. I would also love to know which hotels dem politicians a stay in when dem travel.
Listen dem phone company yah look dem dem yah people rob and tief or get stroke, heart attack or commit suicide from seeing dem phone bill! Me know somebody weh have a phone plan of a certain amount a data and di person do a lickle travelling and only fi when dem return flow send me a bill for almost $500,000 seh dem use roaming data over a less than ONE MONTH PERIOD! Where in gods name these phone companies expect people to get this kind a money from ! A pure bawl dem a bawl from dem get the bill from the shock weh dem inna! Me nuh know how you must have a phone plan and you gone over the plan and the phone company nuh notify you! Its like dem decide seh dem a go take advantage a the customer obliviousness !! This is wrong on all levels ! You know you customer pattern and know seh you customer never get a bill over a certain amount yet and still you nuh notify the customer and seh this is unusual for your account????????
No excuses unless you live in a cave. Everybody and dem mongrel know bout how excessive roaming charges are. Every regular traveller know seh from you going away you call up your provider and ask bout roaming rates and plans to the country you going. You also try fi hit as much wifi hotspots as you can find. Audley been running up these massive bills all year long without a care in the world cause a taxpayers going to foot the bill, Suh ignorance cannot be an excuse. How many roads, schools, and hospitals you think 8 million could be put to? Pickney a swim through river fi guh school and dis ole teef a rack up dem bills in 12 months.
If you are roaming, Flow roaming partner doesn’t send roaming charges to Flow in real-time, so the charges are sent at predermined intervals (maybe every 30-days). Get it?
It does not matter because this was not a one time occurrence. Even by the third or fourth month him see these level of bills him should start asking questions and maybe consider even getting a pay as you go phone in the country he visiting. I stayed in Greece, Panama, Italy, Germany and many other places, and I have never racked up anything close to this, not even $100 mi pay in total on phone in two weeks of travelling. From you hit the airport there are sim card kiosks you can purchase a local sim card and get started, I have a dual SIM card phone, so no stress, plus if free wifi nuh at the hotel or Airbnb me staying, I don’t stay there. Free wifi is a must for me when travelling. Audley is too reckless to be a minister of Finance. How many of us would love our accountants dipping in our money as they like? He is wicked and using IMF money for him own purposes. Money your generations will haffi pay back one day, money that should be used to improve the country.