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With An $8.8M Rental Bill, Premier Points To Previous Plan For Complex

by pltm
Jan 16, 2023
11

No Image Found! — Hezikiah Maddox Photography

(PLTM) - The Government of the Virgin Islands is relying heavily on rented buildings as the Ralph T. O'Neal Administration Complex is still under repairs.

However, there is the recognition that rented buildings will continue even after the repairs to the complex are completed.

During the Standing Finance Committee, Minister for Health and Social Development, Hon. Marlon Penn questioned the cost of the 34 leases entered into on behalf of the Government.

Permanent Secretary in the Deputy Governor's Office, Mrs. Sharleen Dabreo-Lettsome stated the amount of $8.8 million annually.

Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. Natalio Wheatley has pointed to the need for more government office accommodations given there would still be a number of offices renting, even after offices move back into the R. T. O’Neal Complex.

He said that the continued development of the other blocks of Complex were still necessary to help save money in rent of office accommodations.

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lol

The pigs have to be fed at the trough.

Better to have ur own..

Wow. For real. This can't be true. This is gross mis-management of public purse. .Now I understand why the Governor and Britain want to take control.. We should have had not one but two state of the Art state buildings.

@Better to have…

LOL! The existing building was NEVER state-of-the-art. Remember the mold problems that started less than a year after move-in? But yes, you’re right it has been gross mismanagement, start to finish.

Road Runner

How about reduce the number of Government employees to an acceptable level, so that they all fit in the newly refurbished Admin complex? saving on both rented space and a severely overstaffed Civil Service payroll....might even be able to fix the roads then....

Road Runner

@ Running - I have to disagree. Perhaps there are some short staffed Gov. Departments, but my first hand experience of many is being confronted by rude, surly individuals who eventually look up from their phone, while their three colleagues continue on Facebook - Lost paperwork, unreturned calls, lunch breaks that consume half the day, appointments times shared with 50 others, as wasting our time is of little consequence apparently, appears to be the norm here. The entire organization lacks just that - accountability & Organization!

Running

Every department is short-staffed that's not the solution. An entire overhaul of HR and all processes is needed. Also - the govt needs to switch to a more paperless operation to reduce the need for filing cabinets for mountains of paper.

citizen

That money goes to the same privileged names and the taxpayer would like to see it used for the roads, incinerator scrubber, schools, waste treatment, sewage and water.

Truth being told..

Long, Long over due. Those in the past made a mess of the BVI finances.

That money stimulates the economy

Jim

Government jobs DO NOT stimulate the economy. They are a tax upon it and more importantly, you and me

Way Cool jr

No it doesn't. The BVI elite move it out of the territory to buy apartments and things in London and elsewhere. So if you mean it stimulates the UK etc economy, then yes, but not the BVI economy.

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