State paying millions in rent...

[EmilioA]

All kinda thing to evade the truth. PNM started to rent the thing, the next Gov't inherited it stopped it and PNM brought it to the attention of the public after so long not knowing they were the ones that caused it but want to blame the previous administration but that backfired and they trying to cover they bam-bam.

Where its say the PP stopped paying rent ?

[moses_boss12]

My question is though, when they were in opposition none of these goodly fellows knew of this????? why is this now coming to the fore front.. why didn't somebody say -"we entered into the contract and this administration is squandering public funds by paying millions of dollars for a building not in use".

Who have eyes to see, would See what really take place here

[Richard Marshall]

It never ends...

[EmilioA]

My question is though, when they were in opposition none of these goodly fellows knew of this????? why is this now coming to the fore front.. why didn't somebody say -"we entered into the contract and this administration is squandering public funds by paying millions of dollars for a building not in use".

Who have eyes to see, would See what really take place here

Did you read the previous page ? Where this was posted.

Government to pay rent on empty building until November

Geisha Kowlessar
Published: Wednesday, February 19, 2014

The vacant building at Alexandra Street, Port-of-Spain, which has been rented by the Ministry of Local Government for $8.2 million annually.
Government is expected to continue paying rent for the controversial building at 1 Alexandra Street, Port-of-Spain, at least until November. The building remains unoccupied. In a telephone interview yesterday Local Government Minister Marlene Coudray said she could not say when it might be occupied.

The issue was brought to the fore in Parliament last week when Coudray was responding to a question from Arouca/Maloney MP Alicia Hospedales.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-02- ... l-november

[hover11]

The rent paid by ministries and agencies do NOT match what is on the public administration list....

[hover11]

Half a billion dollars wasted in rental units for ministries and agencies for 2024

[hover11]

Nahous family (al wari family) collecting $1.7M monthly for rental of properties yet no lease and no Cabinet approval.....how is that anything but stealing

[hover11]

Full list of all government rentals and costs along with landlords to be published in the interests of transparency

[pugboy]

strange they wouldn’t have contracts
them in rental business long time

Nahous family (al wari family) collecting $1.7M monthly for rental of properties yet no lease and no Cabinet approval.....how is that anything but stealing

[hover11]

Why and their family there pulling strings getting the job done less paper work means they could change the figures when necessary. AL wari should retire from politics he never going back there

strange they wouldn’t have contracts
them in rental business long time

Nahous family (al wari family) collecting $1.7M monthly for rental of properties yet no lease and no Cabinet approval.....how is that anything but stealing

[The_Honourable]

PM targets $1b in rents
...and bloated security contracts

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced more cost-cutting measures with a review of nearly half a billion dollars paid annually in rental of buildings and for security contracts, respectively.

Speaking at the post-Cabinet news conference yesterday at the Cabildo Building, Office of the Attorney General in Port of Spain, Persad-Bissessar raised concern over $493 million being expended on Government rentals and another $500 million on security contracts.

She said nearly half a billion went towards rent in the 2024 fiscal year—much of it without proper documentation, expired leases, or transparency.

She condemned what she described as “eat ah food” landlords feeding at the trough of the State.

The Prime Minister cited figures from the Ministry of Public Administration’s master list, which shows that the Government pays approximately $21.5 million monthly across 234 active leases, amounting to about $260 million annually.

But discrepancies abound, and the rent paid by government ministries and agencies did not match the figures on a master list, she said.

“Some properties for which rent was paid are not even on the Ministry of Public Administration’s master list. I don’t know if you want to call them ghost rentals,” she added.

Persad-Bissessar disclosed that the actual total rent paid in 2024 shows an unexplained variance of $208 million from what was recorded on the master list.

Major discrepancies include:

• Judiciary: $21.8 million

• Ministry of Finance: $24.8 million

• Ministry of Health: $0.9 million

• TTPS: $31.4 million

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: $10.6 million

Rental by region

The Prime Minister said two companies—GV Holdings and NJ Nahous Investments Ltd—were paid over $15 million annually for government-leased properties with no signed lease agreements or Cabinet approval.

Of the 234 properties rented, 193 have expired leases, now operating on month-to-month tenancies.

“No one can confirm whether these properties still meet the rental criteria or possess all the requisite updated approvals for fire, health, and safety,” Persad-Bissessar.

“The properties which Mr Al-Rawi’s family (former government minister Faris Al-Rawi) has great interest in cost taxpayers $1.7 million per month,” she said.

The Prime Minister broke down rental expenditures by region:

• Port of Spain: $9.5 million (66 leases)

• San Juan: $1.38 million (17 leases)

• San Fernando:$1.33 million (22 leases)

• Chaguanas: $0.6 million (10 leases)

• Arima: $0.5 million (11 leases)

On rental discrepancies, she pointing out that Port of Spain was identified as having the highest rental cost per square foot at $23.81, while Chaguanas ranges from $6.33 to $8.71, and San Fernando spans $3.06 to $12.71 per square foot.

“The bottom line is it is cheaper to rent outside of Port of Spain,” she said, pointing to traffic to get to the capital and reminding the public of her administration’s prior decentralisation efforts.

Outlining her action plan, Persad-Bissessar said her Government will re-negotiate these rental prices.

She said 82% of leases—193 properties—have already expired which opens the door to immediate renegotiation and the Ministry of Public Administration will lead this exercise.

Persad-Bissessar said the median rent in Trinidad and Tobago is $7.23 per square foot but 24% of leases—55 properties—exceed $9.26, with some surpassing $20 per square foot.

“This cannot be right,” she said, adding the Government has to find money to deal with flooding, fix schools, and help those in need.

The Prime Minister made it clear landlords who refuse to renegotiate will be bypassed. “We will have no choice but to seek alternative accommodation in other areas where we get cheaper rentals,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar ­emphasised the Government owns many “unused properties” which can be re-purposed and some have already been identified.

Further, she said she has instructed Legal Affairs Minister Saddam Hosein and Agriculture Minister Ravi Ratiram to identify suitable State lands for new Government buildings.

“We intend to save money, so the money that was wasted on government rentals will now be channelled towards more productive measures,” the Prime Minister stated.

In the interest of transparency, Persad-Bissessar said the Government will release the full list of all government rentals.

She said there is one building that does not have the approval to be rented as a commercial building, yet rent is being paid as though it is.

Addressing landlords reluctant to be identified, Persad-Bissessar said, “Well, too bad for you. Do not rent out your building if you do not want people to know. You cannot plead and cry privacy when taxpayers’ money is being spent.”

She also issued a warning to certain legal professionals who received State briefs and refused to allow their names to be disclosed, saying, “And I am coming for those ‘eat ah food’ lawyers soon. You will be amazed at the amount of money being spent, but you can’t give us the name... you cannot use a defence of privacy.”

Contracted security services

The Prime Minister addressed a bill of $500 million spent in the last fiscal year for contracted security services, saying this is not for the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service or the army.

She revealed the Ministry of Education accounts for almost $200 million; the Tobago House of Assembly, about $80 million; the Judiciary, approximately $70 million; and National Security, approximately $30 million.

“We are trying to get the contracts to account for this $500 million with the intention to work on getting some savings. This cost is too high,” she said.

https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/ ... d599c.html

[hover11]

move out uwi... retrofit...


puh Ministries/NGOS

My thing is , why they make a whole waterfront and government campus yet ministries still have to rent offices. All of this wasn't taken into consideration when they were planning these projects, I just asking

[one eye]

They repurposed the government campus which was supposed to consolidate government ministries and agencies in state-owned buildings to stop paying rent.

They don't take a lot of variables into consideration when planning anything.

[hover11]

They repurposed the government campus which was supposed to consolidate government ministries and agencies in state-owned buildings to stop paying rent.

They don't take a lot of variables into consideration when planning anything.

ONE EYE it was your government the PNM who could have rectified this rental situation instead you exacerbated it. You honestly comfortable seeing the amount of money we spending on rentals. All these rentals have to go they are far too expensive, I'm sure there are other property owners who willing to do business. I appreciate what kamla is doing, name and shame these current landlords let the public see where their tax dollars are going

[one eye]

Rectify the situation by spending more money to revert it back to a building suitable for a government office?

"You honestly comfortable seeing the amount of money we spending on rentals."

Rent for Alexandra Place unacceptable

"The UNC-led People’s Partnership (PP) government however made things worst by continuing this lease and failing to occupy the building. The PP administration paid $48 million in rent for an unoccupied building over its five-year term."

"The rental value of $600,000 plus VAT monthly is a slap in the face for taxpayers. It does not take an actuary to see that the State could have purchased this building four times with the $116 million plus spent on it over the last six years."

https://archives.newsday.co.tt/2016/10/ ... cceptable/

[hover11]

The same people who get Priority Bus Pass for their Whole Family is the same people who rent Govt two tent for Half Million a Month outside Hospitals for Covid.....big up ricky ragoonanan group of companies who always applying for tenders every month

[pugboy]

all them “farmers market” they have in savannah on saturdays have to be same tent racket too
tent prob close to road paving in racket

The same people who get Priority Bus Pass for their Whole Family is the same people who rent Govt two tent for Half Million a Month outside Hospitals for Covid.....big up ricky ragoonanan group of companies who always applying for tenders every month

[The_Honourable]

West denies ghost rentals, says reforms saved $6M monthly

Former Public Administration Minister Allyson West has flatly denied claims that she presided over “ghost rentals,” calling the accusation the most egregious of several “misrepresentations and innuendos” made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

“I once again call for our public discourse to be grounded in fact, rather than misrepresentations and innuendo," she said in a statement.

She said discrepancies between the rental costs recorded by the Ministry of Finance and those on the Property Management Information System managed by her ministry had a simple explanation: the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA), through the Property and Real Estate Services Division (PRESD), handled commercial rentals for central government only.

“Many government entities outside of central government handle their own rentals, the details of which are not known to MPA or included on MPA’s records,” West said, citing statutory authorities like the Water and Sewerage Authority and the Regional Health Authorities. When these bodies request funding from the government, their rental costs appear in the Ministry of Finance’s figures—not in MPA’s.

West also took aim at Persad-Bissessar’s claim that the State was paying an average of $23 per square foot in rent in Port of Spain. “That is certainly not true of the properties falling under the remit of PRESD,” she said. “One of the first things I did on assuming office was to ensure that we identified the most expensive rentals and set about treating with those.”

She said PRESD was specifically mandated by Cabinet to bring Port of Spain rental rates down to $10 per square foot, a goal largely achieved. By the time she left office, monthly rental costs had dropped from $23 million to $17 million, with further savings in progress.

These included acquiring the TSTT Laventille property to house police offices and save $1 million monthly, consolidating services in Point Fortin at the Heritage Admin Centre, and transferring the Prime Minister’s Tobago office from a private to a state-owned building. Plans were also underway for a centralised government records facility and shared tribunal centre to reduce property footprints and costs.

West acknowledged that maintenance remained a weakness in the public sector but said rental agreements clearly defined responsibilities, and PRESD worked to ensure landlords upheld their obligations.

She also pushed back on the narrative that the Rowley administration had no vision for decentralisation. While not relocating ministries from the capital, she said their focus was to “bring services closer to the people” through digital transformation and the creation of full-service administrative centres across the country.

https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/west-de ... cb7ab9945c

[MaxPower]

Corruption is a well structured organization.

In T&T, no one is caught in large scale corruption. No one.

We have seen it in politics for decades….all these allegations made towards members from both parties…..who was convicted?

But yet, the public rejoicing because Al Wari etc and all who in property racket quaking? Allyuh sit down and feel they bothered na even by the slightest.

You dumb dotish Trinis fall for political pappy shows every single time.