Govt pays K50mil it owes fund

The National Business

By DALE LUMA
THE Government has paid K50 million so far to Nambawan Super Ltd (NSL) rental arrears, says chief executive officer Paul Sayer.
Sayer told The National that the fund in its discussions with the Government last year was looking at K130 million in debt payments.
He said with the K50 million payment, that left K80 million in outstanding which had accumulated since last year. “In the discussions, we were looking for K130 million of which K50 million has been paid leaving an amount of K80 million yet to be paid that we are working towards resolving,” he said.
“That was last year and since then obviously rent continues to accrue.”
The Government had budgeted K205 million for rentals of properties in the 2022 national budget.
Nambawan Super chief investment officer David Kitchnoge had told The National that this was not enough.
NSL alone was owed K160 million and Kitchnoge said the figure appropriated would not cater for them and other landlords which the State was a tenant.
He said the State’s accumulative rental arrears to the fund would reach K230 million by the end of this year if it did not pay up.
Former Treasury secretary Dairi Vele told The National that the figure allocated: “Was all that we could fit in for next year considering all government priorities.”
The following are a number of NSL buildings rented by the state:

  • REVENUE Haus tenanted by Internal Revenue Commission;
  • VULUPINDI Haus tenanted by Finance Department and Department of National Planning and Monitoring;
  • TREASURY Haus tenanted by Treasury Department;
  • EDA Tano Haus tenanted by Lands and Physical Planning Department;
  • AOPI Centre tenanted by Health Department and Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology; and,
  • NSL Haus in Lae tenanted by Ombudsman Commission, Independent Consumer and Competition Commission and Auditor-General.