Govt offices should be in one location

TOWARDS the end of last year, a number of government agencies were locked out of their offices because of outstanding rental bills.
Within a couple of weeks, a number of government departments and agencies have been ordered to vacate their offices.
Those affected included the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change, the Office of Public Solicitor and the Departments of Lands and Physical Planning and Treasury.
It was not the first time this has happened and it is not likely to be the last either.
So long as government departments and constitutional offices are spread around Port Moresby and are renting office space, situations like this are bound to happen.
The suggestion by Secretary of the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission (CLRC) Eric Kwa to bring all constitutional offices to one location should, therefore, be considered seriously and pursued.
The CLRC, according to Kwa, has four hectares of real estate that could be developed to accommodate all constitutional office holders in one building.
Institutions like the CLRC, Public Prosecutor, Public Solicitor, Ombudsman Commission, Registry of Political Parties and others can all be housed in this one location.
The obvious advantage of this is that the high rental costs these offices or the Department of Finance is paying on their behalf would be avoided and the savings spent elsewhere.
Bringing these offices together under one roof would also be easily accessible to those seeking their services and in some instances, it would be like walking into a one-stop shop.
The manner in which these offices are currently spread all around Port Moresby cause a lot of inconvenience for the public, even for those who are able to drive around.
The CLRC has the land and is proposing to its sister organisations to agree to on a proposal to present to the Government.
This is a very sensible move by the CLRC as the Government in recent years has raised concerns over the cost of rental accommodation annually, which is between K200 million K300 million.
The cost of running the country’s public service will continue to rise to reflect the growing needs of a developing country and an expanding economy.
This is something we cannot avoid despite the efforts by government to reduce costs through measures such as the moratorium on recruitment and others it may come up with.
As the country grows, so will the citizens and the corporate community’s need for public services which only the State is able to provide and at costs that would not be beyond the reach of the average person.
Under the current arrangements, government agencies renting offices are at the mercy of landlords who have their own costs to be mindful and to make return on their investments at the day.
Therefore, the Government’s cycle of payments sometimes does not suit their business well, hence the need for drastic measures.
And for State agencies to be locked out of their rented offices is simply embarrassing.
Not only are public servants working in those offices inconvenienced, but their clients seeking assistance are made to suffer because of delays.
The Government has already taken measures to rationalise its costs of office accommodation in the last couple of years. It has refurbished the Central Government Office at Waigani and the Sir Manasupe Haus to accommodate a number of departments.
There is more work to be done to bring all other departments and agencies together to save costs.
For constitutional offices a central Boroko address would be cost-effective and convenient.
Funds permitting, the proposal by CLRC should be pursued.