FORMER public administration minister Allyson West has rejected claims made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar about rental arrangements for government ministries and state agencies under the former PNM administration.

Persad-Bissessar made her claims at a post-cabinet news conference at the Cabildo Building, Port of Spain on May 22.

She expressed concern about $493 million spent on government rentals under the former PNM government.

She said some of the properties being rented were not recorded on a list at the Public Administration Ministry.

"I don't know if you want to call them ghost rentals."

Persad-Bissessar said, "There are large differences between what was actually paid to property owners and what was supposed to be paid."

She claimed two companies were paid over $15 million in rent per year for three properties, each rented by the government, without current leases or cabinet approval."

Persad-Bissessar promised to make the full list of government rentals public

In a statement on May 23, West described Persad-Bissessar's claims as misrepresentations and innuendos.

She said, "To treat with the most egregious claim first, I did not preside over a system of ghost rentals."

West added there is a reason for difference between the total rental cost reflected in the government’s accounts as prepared by the Finance Ministry and that reflected on the property management information system at the Public Administration Ministry which Persad-Bissessar mentioned.

She said it is well known that the ministry's Property and Real Estate Services Division (PRESD) has responsibility for government rentals and government-owned commercial space.

"The most junior member of the PRESD unit could advise the minister (of Public Administration) that the Ministry of Public Administration, through PRESD, treats almost exclusively with commercial rentals for the central government."

As a general rule, West continued, many government entities outside of central government handled their own rentals.

She said the details of those rentals were not known to the ministry nor included in its records.

"This is true of statutory authorities such as the Regional Health Authorities and the Water and Sewerage Authority, other government bodies and state-owned companies."

She said where any of these entities received financial support from government and provided a break down of expenses to justify their request for that support, their rental costs would be identified as a line item and would be included in the Finance Ministry's total rental figure.

West added that was the reason for the difference between the Finance and Public Administration Ministry's rental figures which Persad-Bissessar referred to on May 22.

West noted Persad-Bissessar's comments about a plan to re-introduce a decentralisation of government ministries outside of Port of Spain and Persad-Bissessar's reference to variances in rental rates in different parts of TT to justify this plan.

While acknowledging such variances exist, West