More Than 60 Culture Department Workers Expected Back to Office After Building Retrofit

More than 60 employees in Antigua and Barbuda’s Department of Culture are expected to return to office work within weeks after government completed retrofitting works on a building deemed suitable for occupancy.

The update came during Thursday’s post-Cabinet briefing as officials provided details on an ongoing audit of government buildings across the country.

Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant said a significant number of public servants have been working from home or leaving work early because of problems affecting government buildings.

“You will be shocked or even probably not surprised that there are a large number of government employees who either go home at 12 o’clock or who either are working from home due to issues of buildings within the system,” Merchant said.

He said the Ministry of Works has been carrying out assessments and repairs on several public buildings while preparing final audit reports for Cabinet.

Merchant identified the Department of Culture as one of the divisions most heavily affected by the building issues.

“The Department of Culture, they have been operating at home for a while,” he said.

According to Merchant, the government has now ordered retrofitting work on a designated facility and expects staff to resume in-office operations soon.

“Those 60-plus workers who have been at home for a while will be required to return to work within the government-provided facilities,” he said.

The briefing also included an update on the Office of National Drug Control Policy building, which Cabinet said has been declared safe for occupancy following technical assessments by the Ministry of Works.

Merchant said the government has additionally established a deep-cleaning division within the Ministry of Works to help ensure public buildings meet proper occupancy standards.

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