PNP blasts $115m annual NaRRA rent for waterfront office amid post-Melissa recovery

The Opposition People's National Party (PNP) has bashed plans by the Government to spend over $100 million per year to house the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) at the Digicel headquarters on the Kingston waterfront while Hurricane Melissa victims still wait for help to rebuild.

The PNP, in a media release on Tuesday, questioned why the agency couldn't have taken up space in a rent-free government building and used the millions to help families that remain without roofs or homes.

On Monday, NaRRA indicated that it had signed a five-year lease for the premises at 14 Ocean Boulevard, which was agreed at a rate of US$26 per square foot, for a total annual cost of US$725,972, or about $115.2 million at Monday's exchange rate.