I appreciate this question from the Honourable Member, as it has brought to my attention a crucial matter regarding the payment of rental costs for Ministerial houses. The officials of the Department of Public Works are currently in the process of verifying the debt owed to the Department with the relevant Ministries. Thus, it would be premature of me to release unverified figures at this stage.
Nevertheless, what is apparent is that there may have been a systemic lapse in terms of the collection of rent from Members of the National Executive, because some amounts are beyond what would be regarded as normal debt (i.e. under 3 months of rental owed).
To this effect I have asked the Departmental officials to reconcile the debt and verify all the amounts owed to the Department of Public Works in respect of Ministerial houses. I have also sought assurance that measures have been undertaken to ensure that rent for Ministerial houses is collected on a monthly basis from all the Ministers and Deputy Ministers who are supposed to be paying that rent.
I can assure the Honourable Member that the Members of the Executive are fully committed to paying their rental costs. What we must ensure is that we address the systemic gap that has caused the debt to escalate for certain Ministerial houses.