By SEAN DOUGLAS Thursday, October 1 2009

OPPOSITION Senator Wade Mark urged the Government in funding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to follow the lead of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez whom he said had spent just US$20 million to host a conference of African and Latin American leaders. Mark claimed the Government would spend $1.5 billion on CHOGM.

He also urged the Government to let CHOGM guest-countries contribute to funding the event.

Trade Minister Mariano Browne replied that the Government only funds about four or five members of each country’s delegation, the rest of whose members must pay their own way, to the benefit of the hosts.

Browne said the Government had funded only 120 people at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, and would fund only 216 at CHOGM.

He said, “The US government brought a delegation of 1,000 people. We paid for four people, so the US Government brought a ‘fiscal stimulus’ of 996 people”.