by Linda Straker
- NIS purchased 8 properties from Government 11 years ago
- Properties were sold by Tillman Thomas NDC Administration between 2012 and 2013
- NIS not at liberty to disclose names of new owners
The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) has earned EC$7.8 million after selling 4 of the 8 properties it purchased from Government 11 years ago.
9 months after advertising 8 properties for sale, the NIS has sold 4 because in a new property for sales notice posted on 19 December, only 4 of the said properties are listed.
“The properties not listed were either sold or are in the process of being sold,” said Dorset Cromwell, NIS Director, after a letter of inquiry was submitted to the scheme. He also said that the Government of Grenada has not purchased any of the listed properties and the NIS is “not at liberty to disclose the names of the new owners.”
The sale of the properties has brought EC$7.8 million into the NIS. Based on the sale price of all properties as originally advertised, the NIS projected that it would earn EC$18.8 million from the sale of the 8 properties.
The properties were sold by the Tillman Thomas National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration between 2012 and February 2013 because of a lack of cash in the Consolidated Fund to meet the monthly recurring expenditure.
The most expensive properties for sale were the building on Grand Etang Road, formerly the St James Hotel, which measures 29,402 square feet; and a lot of land measuring 54,450 square feet at Morne Rouge, St George. The asking price for each property was EC$6 million.
The latest properties for sale notice, posted on the NIS Facebook page on 19 December, shows that the Morne Rouge property was sold. Other properties sold are the building which formerly housed parish doctors in Maran, St John, and Thebaide in St David. The asking price for each building was EC$350,000. The listed price for the building on Scott Street which formerly housed Radio Grenada, on 2,659 square feet of land was EC$400,000.
The properties not sold are 31,044 square feet of land in La Digue, St Andrew with an asking price of EC$250,000 and the Drill Yard on Young Street. The Drill Yard building formerly housed several Government ministries before the construction of the Ministerial Complex, and measures 11,284 square feet with an asking price of EC$4.5 million. The other building for sale is the former Parliamentary Election Office on Woolwich Road which is located on 1,872 square feet of land. The asking price is EC$950,000.
The sale, according to the notice in the newspaper, is not being done by a real estate agent or broker but by the Investment Committee of the National Insurance Scheme. The NIS Act states that the Investment Committee shall have the power to give from time to time general or specific directions to the Director, subject to the concurrence of the Board, on the investment of monies in the Fund which are surplus to current needs; and the Director shall give to the Investment Committee any information necessary for the proper discharge of their functions.
Government Transparency is so important that no one should vote for a party which refuses it. It basically means that they don’t respect citizens and voters