The Wickhams Cay Development Authority’s main challenges for 2010 and 2011 were collecting rent and getting people to follow the rules on the property, according to the authority’s annual reports for those years, which were made public at a July 24 House of Assembly sitting.

In 2011, a combination of not being able to collect rent from leaseholders and needing to pay for audits dating back to 2000 left the authority struggling to meet its financial obligations, the 2011 report states.

“At times it had been unable to cover its operating costs, such as salaries for office staff, wages for maintenance crew, equipment, utilities, audit reports, rent review obligations and other costs associated with the maintenance of Wickhams Cay,” the report states. It adds that some leaseholders, after paying their initial fees, have never paid rent. By the end of 2011, leaseholders, who are not identified in the reports, owed $1,358,739.52.

One badly needed new initiative, according to the report, is a new or refurbished Palm Grove Shopping Centre.

“Every unit in the building is leaking,” the report states, adding that the building’s roofing was made using asbestos.

See the Aug. 16, 2012 edition for full coverage.

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