Almost $64M to upgrade security, other structures at DPP’s Office

The Committee of Supply on Monday approved the sum of $63.5 million which was set aside in the 2023 budget for capital spending by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

But before the monies were approved, Opposition Parliamentarian Khemraj Ramjattan asked the government to disaggregate the sum.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira, who was defending the monies allocated to constitutional bodies, said over $40 million of that money is for physical works to the property which was partly damaged by fire in 2021.

Monies are also now available for the replacement of equipment which was also damaged by the fire.

It includes web cameras, iPads, software, vacuum cleaner, refrigerator, routers, chairs, and cabinets among others.

There will also be the installation of grills, fire alarms, and smoke detectors.

This year, with the monies approved, the DDP office will move ahead with the construction of a perimeter fence, concrete drain, main bridge, and a modern security hut.

Monies were also approved in the 2022 budget for the rehabilitation of the DPP Chambers in the aftermath of the fire.