Offices closed

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By GYNNIE KERO and CHRISTOPHER YOWAT
THE Government is awaiting the passing of the Supplementary Budget in Parliament to pay the rent arrears of buildings it is leasing, some of which have been closed by the landlords.
The offices included those occupied by the Public Solicitor’s Office and the Ombudsman Commission.
Finance Secretary Dr Ken Ngangan was summoned yesterday by Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika to  the National Court to explain why the two offices were closed for the non-payment of rent.
Parliament sits from next Tuesday, Sept 26. The supplementary budget is top of the agenda.
Sir Gibbs told Ngangan that the closure of the Office of the Public Solicitor was the main issue before the court.
Ngangan was summoned pursuant to Section 225 of the Constitution which states that it is the duty of the government to ensure that all roles and responsibilities of constitutional offices are not hindered.
Sir Gibbs told Ngangan that it was important to continue to have dialogue with the landlords so that the roles and operations of constitutional offices were not disturbed in the future due to rental arrears.
Ngangan told the court that the unpaid rent, especially of the Office of the Public Solicitor, had been partly paid.
The full payment would be made after the supplementary budget is passed in Parliament.
Public Solicitor Jim Wala Tamate told The National that Ngangan had assured his office that the outstanding rent would be settled.
Ngangan also told The National that rent owed by government agencies and departments would be paid once the supplementary budget was passed.
“We are working to settle the outstanding amounts and are asking the landlords to keep the offices open,” he said.
“Once the supplementary budget is passed, the error we made in the 2017 budget will be corrected and we will continue to pay the rentals.”