00:00The Minister of Rural Development and Local Government in this year's fiscal package received an increase of over $833 million
00:08compared to 2026.
00:11On Tuesday, while members of the Standing Finance Committee reviewed the $2.93 billion allocation,
00:18opposition MP Stuart Young questioned items under a URP heading.
00:24Why are offices still being rented or leased for URP?
00:28So the main office is at Autorama in El Sikoro.
00:33Is that what?
00:34Autorama building in El Sikoro that housed the headquarters.
00:40Line Minister Khadija Amin says skeletal staff who are permanent public servants still operate out of the location
00:47to compile employment records of past URP employees as they work towards digitizing records.
00:54But more than that, she says the office still stores URP equipment.
00:59That building has a lot of the assets of the URP and we in fact had an asset audit done
01:08and we are making a plan going forward.
01:10In fact, we have already drafted it in terms of how those assets will be distributed, including current regional offices.
01:18They have a lot of signs, tools and so on.
01:22And instead of, I don't want them walking away, they are properly secured there.
01:26Minister Amin says until they can reassign these assets to regional corporations and other spaces,
01:32the renting of this office will continue on a month-to-month basis.
02:00MP Young also questioned an allocation of $6.5 million,
02:05the salaries listed under URP, given that the program closed one year ago.
02:11Minister Amin says the money is being used to pay public servants, not contract employees,
02:17who were signed to URP and are now awaiting reassignment by the ministry.
02:23As they are absorbed into different corporations and different parts of the ministry,
02:30they will be removed from this URP head because we don't intend to maintain this URP head
02:37because you know the program is being closed down.
02:39How many of them are there?
02:40We provide it in writing, no problem.
02:42So you don't know how many are there?
02:43We have the aggregate here, but I'll provide it for you in writing.
02:45Well, I just wanted to tell them I don't want it in writing.
02:47Tell us now, please.
02:50I'll provide it in writing.
02:53I'll avoid it.
02:55Cindy Raguba, Tika Singh, TV6 News.
