Almost $2.7 million allocated for Government House work
Almost $2.7 million has been allocated for repairs to Government House, with preparatory work expected to take place this year.
David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance, said during a Budget debate on Non-Ministry Departments that $2.684 million had been included for repairs to the ageing structure.
It was revealed last year that the building, the official residence of the Governor, was considered unsafe and not fit to live in.
The structure’s roof and windows need to be replaced or repaired and the full remediation is expected to take three to five years.
Mr Burt told the House on Friday: “Whether the work was taking place this year, two years ago, next year, the place would still have to be vacated in order to ensure that the roof changing can actually happen.
“It is significant work, and I don’t believe that the roof has been changed for about 50 years.”
An increase in funding for the Parliamentary Registrar raised questions about the possibility of a General Election.
The Parliamentary Registrar received a $24,000, or 2 per cent, increase of funding in the budget, but the head to receive the largest increase was General and Bye Elections.
While the heading had received $160,000 in funding last year, that was proposed to increase to $251,000 in the coming year.
Vance Campbell, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, noted the increase was correlated with the “possibility” of an election being called.
Craig Cannonier, the Shadow Minister of Public Works and Tourism, suggested that the budget item had previously received a similar boost before the last General Election was called.
“The last time we saw a jump like this was in the 2020 budget,” he said. “We had an election in 2020.
“There is a suggestion that if we are going back to this $250,000 that we saw back in 2020, it may be an indication that we are heading towards something, not necessarily in 2026 or 2025, but maybe in 2024.”
Mr Campbell responded that the Registrar begins preparations for an election at least one year out, adding: “Given the recent history of not going to full term, it is not unusual that they may begin now with the anticipation of an election being called earlier than February 2026.
“There is only one person in Bermuda who really knows when the next election will be, and I am not that person.”
Mr Burt added that preparatory work on the building was being done, with ongoing communication with the Department of Planning as Government House is a listed building.
“This work has started. There have been a number of discussions with the UK and others regarding this,” he said.
“Bermuda does retain full responsibility for the upkeep of Government House through the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Bermuda and the Government of the United Kingdom.”
Mr Burt also noted that $250,000 had been allocated for work at Session’s House. However, he said that major refurbishment work at the building would not begin until the Supreme Court moved to the Dame Lois Browne-Evans Building this year.
“They are going to move, so we will begin the work next year,” he said. “$250,000 clearly cannot do the work that is necessary.”
The Premier added that the Parliamentary Salaries Review Committee would be convened this year for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Burt said the committee was supposed to meet every two years under the law, and that parliamentary wages had remained unchanged since 2008.
“That committee is meeting,” he said. “It is the law that they are required to meet every two years. We are trying to hold it according to the law.”
Non-Ministerial Departments enjoyed an overall budget increase for the coming year, with their combined budgets rising by $383,000 to just over $19 million.
The Legislature got a budget rise of $67,000 to $5.44 million. The Office of the Auditor had its budget cut by $16,000 to $4.18 million, however, that figure was higher than the $3.91 million spent last year due to unfilled posts in the office.
The Privacy Commissioner’s Office had its budget increased by $269,000 to $2.13 million, while the Governor and Staff had a $49,000 budget increase, rising to $1.41 million.
Tinée Furbert, the Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, noted that the Human Rights Commission had been allocated $1.38 million, $33,000 more than last year.
Ms Furbert said that in the coming year the body would work to raise awareness of human rights protections through events, social-media promotions and a podcast.
Vance Campbell, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, meanwhile noted that the Parliamentary Registrar had been budgeted an additional $24,000 for the coming year.
He said that the Boundaries Commission would return to work this year after being halted by the cyberattack, while the possibility of a future General Election had inspired an increased election budget.
However, he said no funding had been allocated for election reform because of the ongoing work of the Boundaries Commission.
Mr Campbell also highlighted the work of the Privacy Commissioner’s Office, which he said was allocated additional funds for advertising and promotion in advance of Pipa legislation coming into effect next year.
He said that the body would launch a “Road to Pipa” campaign to help raise awareness of the legislation to ensure organisations knew their responsibilities and the public knew their rights.
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