ST JAMES, Jamaica — Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang has sought to downplay the furore surrounding the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) and its planned office accommodation.

NaRRA, a temporary and specialised government agency established to drive post-disaster rebuilding in Jamaica, has been mired in controversy since its conception, with the latest concerns surrounding a proposal to rent office space to house its operations.

The initial lease agreement was reportedly valued at approximately $110 million annually over five years for two floors of the building located on Ocean Boulevard in Kingston.

READ: NaRRA signs $115m per year lease for new headquarters at Digicel Building

“The reason that building cost so much, it’s one of the few resilient buildings in Kingston. All the other high rise buildings in Kingston are sick buildings,” he explained.

Chang was speaking at the launch of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute’s (CAPRI) latest report, which examines the impact of Hurricane Melissa, in Montego Bay on Wednesday, when he provided insight into how the rental cost was determined.

“I’m in one, the staff get sick everyday, they have improper air conditioning unit. The Digicel building is a new building, their rates of rental is higher than normal but everybody making a noise about it,” he lamented.

The proposed arrangement, however, drew swift backlash, with members of the public, the Opposition and others criticising what they viewed as the high rental costs.

Following the criticism, the Government announced that it would scale down the arrangement, potentially by reducing the amount of office space by half.

Chang argued that more effort should have been made to obtain information before the controversy escalated.

“You rent a resilient building and it’s considered inappropriate. Nobody asked questions, nobody seek to inquire why do you do this,” he said.

He also addressed another contentious issue that has attracted public concern: the remuneration package for NaRRA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Major Anthony Anderson, who is set to earn $40 million annually.

“The gentleman is going to oversee a multi-trillion-dollar development, management of a budget, but you pay him too much to do it,” he said.