Yesterday, staff were told by their respective department heads that management was revisiting the decision to have them contribute towards the purchase of supplies and they would be updated as soon as possible.
But the T&T Guardian was told that since two weeks ago, there has been no drinking water at the dispensers and staff have been coming to work with their own water. Sometimes, they say, there isn’t enough toilet paper and paper towels in the wash rooms.
On Tuesday, acting comptroller of accounts Karen Seebaran-Timothy issued an internal memo to staff stating that the Treasury had no funds to purchase the items. It was proposed that water filters be installed in the kitchen area as a long-term solution to having to purchase water for the dispensers. However, she said this would take some time to be done as this was also at a cost. She said they would also have to get quotations before purchasing and installing the filters.
It was then suggested that staff in each section contribute towards the purchase of water with the cost of a bottle being at $20. The memo noted that other ministries and department staff were contributing to the purchase of water, but if the Treasury staff was not in agreement with the proposal, each employee would be responsible for his or her supply of water, toilet paper and paper towels.
Up to late yesterday, the Ministry of Finance, nor Finance Minister Colm Imbert responded to questions from the Guardian.
