Safety concerns raised after rain floods office

 By PHOEBE GWANGILO

THE head of a Government department is questioning the safety and security of the building housing its headquarters in Port Moresby after rain damaged some offices.

Department of Communication and Information Technology Secretary Paulius Korni said the rented premises at Gordon was clearly unsafe.

“As you can see, the building is falling apart,” Kornis aid.

Rain on Saturday and yesterday created pools of water on the floors, with parts of the building falling off.

Korni said they had reminded the landlord about the problems in the building but no attempts were made to fix them. “This is not a nice place to operate from as there is water leaking from the roof. It is in need of urgent repairs. The minister’s office next door is also facing the same issue,” he said.

“We have alerted the landlord but they have not come up with anything. This building is not able to withstand the heavy rain.

“Usually the flooding is from downstairs. So when you have the flooding from upstairs, there is a major structural issue which the landlord has to resolve.”

He said the lives and safety of department staff were being put at risk.

“We have to make sure that the operators who put up structures comply with the standards.”