Opposition leader’s office usually closed despite $400K rent paid by Govt – Teixeira

…PNC chair admits to closure, claims $32.5M Govt funding inadequate

Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton

Concerns were raised in the National Assembly on Monday over the fact that the Office of the Opposition Leader is usually closed even as $400,000 in rent is being paid by Government. However, the opposition argued that the rented building is too small for their operations.
During the perusal of the budget estimates on Monday in the National Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister, Gail Teixeira, gave account for the money budgeted for the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.
Texeira was asked whether there will be an increase in the budget for the Opposition Leader’s Office. The Minister provided a breakdown of the $32.5 million subvention for the office and went on to reveal that the Office of the Leader of Opposition is usually closed whenever her Ministry has to send mail there.

Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister, Gail Teixeira

This has resulted in the Ministry having to forward mail to Congress Place, the headquarters of People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) that Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton heads. Despite this, however, the rent is still being paid for the Opposition Leader’s office on Regent Street, Georgetown at a rate of $400,000 a month. The Minister thus urged that the office at least be functional.
“Many times, when we need to send or receive mail, the building is closed. As a result, we often have to redirect mail to Congress Place (the headquarters of the Opposition People’s National Congress Reform). If you have an office, it should be operational, particularly for those of us who have to engage with the Leader of the Opposition,” the Minister explained.
This publication, meanwhile questioned Member of Parliament Shurwayne Holder, the Chairman of the PNC/R, on the Minister’s statement. Holder admitted that the office may be closed from time to time and he defended this by explaining that the office building is not a comfortable one for the opposition leader.

Office of the Leader of the Opposition

The PNC/R Chairman complained that the allocation is too small and went on to say that if elected into Government, his party would increase the allocation to the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.
“The office is opened from time to time. But the problem with the office is that it is very small for what we want to do and the allocation is just about $400,000. $400,000 in Georgetown just gets you a small space and so, it is not suitable, it is not convenient, it is not comfortable for us. If you see it closed or we are not using it for certain purposes, understand the reason why,” the PNC Chair explained.
“The crux of the matter is the allocation is not enough. The leader has to go out to 10 administrative regions. Its not nearly enough for what we want to achieve. He has to carry MP’s. A trip to Lethem, might cause us over $1 million. So how many times can you go to the Rupununi? People might say, oh we’re not seeing the Leader of the Opposition. But then the budget he’s working with is so minimal is you can’t be as effective as you’d like to be.” (G3)