Luncheon defends $69M renovated NIS office

Sep 01, 2011 News

– says wide array of services covered

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, stated yesterday that he has “observed the propensity by Kaieteur News to sensationalize the issue” of the $69M National Insurance Scheme (NIS) reconstructed office, which was commissioned two Mondays ago at Springlands, Corriverton, Berbice.
At the time Dr Luncheon was addressing members of the media at his weekly press conference at Office of the President.
Luncheon asserted that the amount spent on the building covered a wide array of services, which includes its being a local office that provides 100 percent of the headquarter’s functions; houses 17 permanent staff 24/7; provides all the necessities needed to discharge those responsibilities, along with the provision of facilities for customers, security and undertaking the provision of power and back-up power.

The controversial $69M National Insurance Scheme (NIS) building.

“How can this conceivably be compared with a seven-million-dollar house? The editor presumably might be wrong, but I don’t know whose seven-million-dollar construction the NIS office was compared with, but I found it as an insult to the readers’ intelligence, and I made the offer… we provide the bid documents, the bill of quantities and ask Kaieteur News if they can do the same for their $7M construction that they sought to compare with the $69M construction of the NIS local office,” Luncheon stated emphatically.
In relation to the issue, Kaieteur News publisher, Glenn Lall, stated that he was surprised at Luncheon’s response yesterday, since when they met on Monday, last, at the High Court, Luncheon said that he would have provided the bill of quantities freely, but did not state that he (Lall) would also have to do the same for the buildings that were being compared.
“I am dumbfounded, and would gladly submit mine. But I want the bill of quantities for the $69M National Insurance Scheme (NIS),” Lall stressed.
The reconstructed building is a one-flat office.