Secretaries Answers to Questions
FULL VIDEO
SUPPLEMENT -SCHOOL REPAIRS PROGRAMME
Madam Presiding Officer, there is a difference between the School Repairs Programme 2022, which was broken into phase 1 and phase 2, and that is the programme that was given the approval for twenty-one plus million dollars ($2Im). The emergency repair works which I got Executive Council approval for, that of course, I do not know where the twenty-one million dollars ($2Im) is coming from.
The question was pellucidly clear. It speaks to the School Repairs Programme and in your ‘Mandate Monday’, you would have indicated to the public that you would have received approval to spend twenty-one million dollars ($2Im) on the School Repairs Programme, and you are now telling us that this very same School Repairs Programme is now costing the taxpayers forty-one million dollars ($4Im). So I am simply asking, did you get Executive Council approval to spend these additional sums?
Madam Presiding Officer, Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the School Repairs Programme was approved for the twenty-one million dollars ($21m). The Executive Council gave approval for the emergency repair works to be completed. The total cost of the programme is forty-one million, one hundred and eighty-eight thousand, seven hundred and ninety- nine dollars ($41,188,799). The emergency repair works - that cost twenty million, eight hundred and ninety-seven thousand, nine hundred and fifty two dollars and eleven cents. ($20,897,952.11)
Phase 1 and phase 2:
Phase 1 - sixteen million, eight hundred and twenty-one thousand, eight hundred and seventy-one dollars and seventy-six cents ($16,821,871,76); and
Phase 2 - six million, one hundred and sixty thousand, nine hundred and thirteen dollars and thirty-three cents ($6,160,913.33).
Total cost of programme to date, forty-one million, one hundred and eighty-eight thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine dollars and nineteen cents ($41,188,799.19).
Thank you, Madam Presiding Officer.
Again, the School Repairs Programme - he is categorizing the entire thing that happened from June to September school repairs and I am telling him, that it was broken down into two parts - what we would call phase 1 and phase 2, and what we will call ‘emergency repair works.’ The total cost of all repairs done to schools, is forty-one million, one hundred and eighty-eight thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine dollars and nineteen cents ($41,188,799.19).
Phase 1 and phase 2 , again, breaking it down:
Phase 1 - sixteen million, eight hundred and twenty-one thousand, eight hundred and seventy-one dollars and seventy-six cents ($16,821,871,76); and
Phase 2 - six million, one hundred and sixty thousand, nine hundred and thirteen dollars and thirty-three cents ($6,160,913.33).
So, we have two (2) Executive Council Notes, one that approves the School Repairs Programme in Phase 1 and Phase 2, which is what I have just quoted for you and emergency repair works which I got the approval for. I would have expressed previously why we had to go to the emergency repair works.The total, because that is the question the Minority Leader asked, is forty- one million, one hundred and eighty-eight thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine dollars and nineteen cents ($41,188,799.19).
Thank you, Madam Presiding Officer.
I would move on but I recognize you went over your twenty-one million dollars ($2Im) in the School Repairs Programme.
With respect to the Scarborough Secondary School, because I guess the Scarborough Secondary School would fall under the twenty-two percent (22%) of works not yet completed. What is the situation with the Scarborough Secondary? What is going on with our children at that School?
Madam Presiding Officer, I have the questions to
Secretary here.
I have two (2) sets of questions to respond to today.
Question for Written Answer;
Question for Oral Answer.
Question for Written Answers states:
“As it relates to the School Repairs programme, can the Secretary provide the following?
(a) A list of the names of the contractors sole selected; and
(b) The project cost for contractors who were sole selected.”
Those responses were submitted to the Clerk and the second group of questions, Questions for Oral Answers, I just responded to.
The Minority Leader, if he is so inclined to, at a later Sitting, ask this
question.
Maybe if the Secretary takes her emotion away, she would recognize that I simply asked on the status of the programme where she said there were some work still continuing. I know for a fact, that the Scarborough Secondary School remains part of those works that are incomplete. So I am asking her, seeing that we have children...[Interruption]
The Scarborough Secondary School currently has issues - twenty-one (21) years’ worth of neglect [Desk thumping], and what we were able to do, and leading the charge of former teacher of the Scarborough Secondary School were able to do, is to not put a plaster on a sore, a sore that has been reeking and oozing as I said previously, for twenty-one (21) years. As Secretary, because I know of the issues at the school, we were able to identify an issue, an issue that posed to be challenging, that issue is one that we... [Interruption]
...had to treat with urgently and (what is the challenge, Minority Leader?) that issue required that we instruct and have the PIU organize what we call a ‘rotation system.’ That system has now ended because of course, the Secretary would have done what is called, ‘stakeholder consultation’ and would have done some collaborative meetings with members of the Division and members and teachers, former colleagues of myself. Those meetings proved fruitful.
There was a town hall meeting which I expected you, Minority Leader, to be a part of, to get the information first-hand. At that meeting, we were able to come up with solutions, one of which is to move the sixth form of the Scarborough Secondary School to that former UWI Open Campus building at Signal Hill. That has since happened - the sixth formers are comfortably up at Signal Hill at the moment. The rotation system at the Scarborough Secondary School has ceased and we are actually working very hard on ensuring that we can repair that auditorium. As I said, that has been a case of the lack of maintenance. [Crosstalk]