Between July 1 and the beginning of September, the government spent more than $600,000 to fill its vehicles, according to the Ministry of Finance.
But officials there did not indicate whether this exceeded the amount spent during the same period last year.
The government has budgeted $3.3 million in fiscal year 2005/2006 for gasoline, up from $3.1 million it budged in 2004/2005.
But in 2004/2005, the Ministry of Finance said the actual dollar amount spend on gasoline was $2.8 million.
An official in the Ministry explained that if ministries exceed their individual gas budgets, they would have to come back to the Ministry of Finance and request further funds.
In 2003/2004, $2.9 million was budgeted and $2.7 million was spent; in 2002/2003, $2.8 million was budgeted and $2.7 million was spent; in 2001/2002, $2.7 million was budgeted and $2.3 million was spent; in 2000/2001, $2.9 million was budgeted and $2.4 million was spent; and in 1999/2000, $3 million was budgeted and $1.8 million was spent, according to the Ministry of Finance.
But government officials remain hopeful that they would be able to keep the cost of gasoline under control.
While millions of dollars are spent every year to fill up government vehicles, cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries driving government vehicles have to pay their own gasoline bills.
It’s why Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller recently said he parked his gas-guzzling government car and started driving his daughter’s more economical Volkswagen Beetle, but Prime Minister Perry Christie reportedly ordered him to remove the CM plate from the private car.
On Monday, when he announced that prices at the gas pumps were set to increase again, Minister Miller said many people had not recognized the severity of the problem he has been highlighting for years now.
In the case of Shell Bahamas, the price per gallon of gasoline is now $4.77 and many motorists fear that it will be $5 before long.
Meanwhile, Texaco’s District Retail Manager Raymond Samuels announced that Texaco had decided to absorb more than 90 percent of acquisition costs on new fuel cargo.
“We informed the Ministry of Trade and Industry on September 16, 2005 that we will absorb 92 percent of our gasoline acquisition costs increase (or 92 cents per gallon) and 95 percent of those for diesel (or 39 cents per gallon) for the cargo we just received, hence operating in a negative margin situation,” Mr. Samuels said in a statement to the press.
When asked whether the price of a gallon of gasoline at the independently-owned Texaco stations could have exceeded $5 a gallon had the oil company not taken such a move, Mr. Samuels said this was likely.
Minister Miller announced on Monday that gasoline at Texaco stations is priced at $4.03 per gallon; and gasoline at Esso stations costs $4.02 per gallon.
The government of course isn’t the only entity swallowing higher fuel costs. Officials in the tourism industry have long complained about the burden high energy prices have on the industry.
Energy costs is only one factor that makes The Bahamas an expensive destination, industry executives have continued to say.
Some motorists, meanwhile, told The Bahama Journal on Tuesday that they plan to take Minister Miller’s advice and drive less or carpool.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
