IN reference to individuals residing in government quarters without paying rent within the region, Devanand Ramdatt, the Regional Executive Officer for Region Three, has disclosed that the regional authorities have sought the assistance of the Attorney General’s chambers to establish a course of action.

Ramdatt disclosed this as he and members of the regional administration appeared before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) earlier this week.
As the committee examined the Auditor General’s report of 2019 for the region, government member of the committee, Dharamkumar Seeraj brought attention to a specific item which stated that the regional administration failed to provide the relevant records to determine whether the occupants of 43 of the 59 occupied buildings were entitled to rent free quarters or the reason for their non-payment of rent.

To this end, Seeraj asked if those 43 persons listed as delinquent had paid their rent or if they had not been abiding by the regulations and what measures were taken to address the deficiency.
Ramdatt then reported to the committee that those officers did not pay and added that he had moved to seek legal advice last month.

“I have engaged the attention of the attorney-general, seeking legal guidance on this matter. All the relevant documentation we have regarding the occupants of these quarters was provided to the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Attorney General,” he said.
In addition, concerns were raised regarding the eligibility of all occupants for this service.

In light of this, the committee members were informed that only a little over half of the occupants were eligible.
However, shifting the issue, members of the opposition side of the committee then questioned the eligibility and went on to ask whether the quarters were in a “condition” to be rented and if maintenance or repair works were done to the quarters.
Meanwhile, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira said that the issue is being confused.

She said, “We are confusing the issue now with the fact that whether the quarters are appropriate or not, functioning or not, in good condition or not. That is not the issue. You are now throwing smoke into the mirrors. The issue is once someone is entitled to rented government quarters and they happen to be in the category you don’t have to pay a fee, they could reject it if the conditions are bad and therefore would have to be dealt with.”