Government House has been vacated by the governor and her family because it’s unsafe and in need of “urgent repairs”.
Rena and her children, as well as their husbands, are in temporary housing paid for the by taxpayers.
News of the repairs comes after 18 months of hearing from Parliament that there was extensive damage to the building in Langton Hill due to water leaks, and broken windows. But major repair work had been put off owing a lack cash.
The Royal Gazette quoted a spokesperson for the Government as saying:
The Government of Bermuda will pay for alternative temporary housing in the interim. This is part of our obligation to provide a suitable home for Governors and their families.
The spokesperson said: “Once the full assessment is completed, we will make decisions about remediation at Government House as well as its continued use in a residential working environment.”
The temporary accommodations would be paid for by the Government House capital development budget. However, she didn’t give a price.
According to the latest Government Budget, a total of $5.2 million has been authorised as funding for Government House improvement. Of that amount, $1.7 Million had already spent on March 31, 2020. This year the budget was $380,000 while last year it had been $300,000.
Walter Roban was the Minister of Interior Affairs who told the House of Assembly that in March of this year the $300,000 budget for 2022/23 would go towards “ongoing house maintenance”. However, major and long lasting repairs had to be put off due to the lack of funds.
He said, “It must be remembered that Government House has been constructed since 1871. The infrastructure is deteriorating and will need substantial capital investment for a safer working environment and residence for Her excellency.”
Roban told us that the window replacements would be almost $2,000,000 and the roof will cost approximately $450,000.
After admitting that the damage caused by water would “exponentially increase” until these major capital project and their associated costs of operation could be funded, Minister acknowledged.
Last year, the government had to decide whether to intervene urgently in order to save the official residence belonging to the Deputy Governor from disrepair.
Montpelier is a Grade III building that has been abandoned in Devonshire since 2018. It was owned by the government and had already started to deteriorate.
Civil servants from the Ministry of Public Works attempted to undertake internal renovations as well as upgrade external facilities, which included a swimming-pool and garage. However Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch of the Works Ministry withheld the funding.
It was then that he stated: “At present, I can confirm the fact that this property is not going to be developed in the near future. No funds are budgeted nor allocated.”
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