A RESOLUTION tabled in the House of Assembly by National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson which would empower a $5 million purchase of residences formerly used to house officials of the court sparked a renewed call for an official residence for the Prime Minister of the Bahamas.

Mr Gibson said that after former judges’ residences are purchased and refurbished they will be put on a lease/finance programme to the government.

The minister pointed out that the buildings, owned by National Insurance on lease finance arrangements, are some of the best kept government offices on the island but currently the four residences earmarked for the judiciary are not occupied and are in a state of “disrepair and ruin”.

Mr Gibson said that investing in property is nothing new for NIB and that it was about time that some movements are made in establishing an official Prime Minister’s Residence.

“I think it was in 1989 when Sir Linden purchased 8.9 acres of property on Sanford Drive for the purpose of constructing a PM’s residence.

“Like everything else, politicians never like to make things seem as if its all about them, so they take a backseat after we determine politically its not the right time to do it,” Mr Gibson said.

The minister said that he knows that now is not the right time to explore such an option but it should be something that should be advanced at some time in the future.

Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchombe, in lending his support to the resolution, also backed the idea of a prime minister’s residence.

“This is not housing for Perry Christie the Prime Minister or Hubert Ingraham the Prime Minister but the office of the prime minister.

“Why is it that we are so afraid to do it or jealous to do it or think that there is something wrong with having it? I’ve been to Haiti, I’ve been to Dubai, I’ve been everywhere in the world. Why is it each time the prime minister of the Bahamas wants to hold an event he has to rent somewhere to host it? He has to leave his facilities to go to a hotel to host an event. We have to move forward,” he said.

The NIB fund currently holds $1.635 billion, yielding 4.65 per cent annually, and is heavily invested in the Bahamas government through real estate, leases, quasi-government debt and Bahamas government registered stock.

Mr Gibson said $418 million has been spent on building projects, pointing out that NIB officials often find it difficult to find good investment vehicles in the Bahamas that offer little exposure.