The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

STATE Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said the government stopped leases worth $3.7m since coming to office in 2021, stressing the need for public servants to work in safe and healthy environments.

During a question and answer session in the House of Assembly last week, East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson asked the Davis administration for the list of all new lease arrangements the government has entered since September 2021. Mrs Glover-Rolle said 16 leases were engaged by since 2021, but 14 have been terminated because she said the buildings did not meet the requisite standards.

“The current value in terms of disengaged leases in the public service is approximately $3.7m. They are some more in the pipeline, which at this time is approximately about $350,000,” she said. “But this process will be ongoing. I would have spoken about the fact that our Prime Minister would have signed on to the ILO Decent Work Programme in October of 2021, which speaks to ensuring that our public servants are in safe, healthy buildings and work environments, and that is what our mission is.” 

Mrs Glover-Rolle said the Accommodations Unit of the ministry now has an Inspectorate Unit that provides accountability by ensuring buildings are well maintained for employees.

“In some instances, we don’t know which buildings they are, we don’t know if they’re occupied. We don’t know if they’re healthy and well maintained. And that is the role of an Inspectorate,” she said.

“So, I do anticipate that there will be more disengagement if the need arises, because now we have deployed an Inspectorate Unit within our Accommodations Unit at the Ministry of Public Service who will be going out and physically monitoring the process, physically checking our buildings, (and) physically ensuring that maintenance is happening. And ensuring that our public servants are in the proper working environments which they should be in.”

A document Mrs Glover-Rolle tabled in the House of Assembly last week detailed the new and terminated leases.

New leases include the National Crime Intelligence Agency at Print Shop and family courts at Success Plaza. Terminated leases include Ministry of Education NAECOB at RND Properties and the National Sports Authority at Road Traffic Department.