Sod turned for expansion of two...
In the context of the performance call, when asked on the sidelines of the event if her Ministry required a performance track record of the contractor as a part of its tender requirements, she responded in the negative. She stated that while it makes sense to have a performance register of contractors, her ministry does not have that nor has any evaluation records been shared with her procurement team. She went on to state that after a bid is advertised for a project, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) absorbs the responsibility of the project until it is green lighted by Cabinet.
“The Tender Board has its own rules and… is governed by a particular law called the Procurement Act. I do not hold the jurisdiction to administer that law or interfere with it in anyway. [The Ministry] has to comply with the Act,” she stated, before suggesting that the question be directed to the NPTAB.
More questions are likely to be raised on the importance of a performance record based on the Minister’s comments and in light of the recent award to Kares Engineering for the reconstruction of the North Ruimveldt Secondary School following Kares’s disastrous construction performance of the Kato Secondary School in Region 8.
With the turning of the sod for the new building that will house Grade Seven students at the East Ruimveldt Secondary School, Delph Construction will erect a new building at a cost of $172 million. This building will accommodate 10 classrooms, an administrative block, a sanitary block and air conditioning units. When commissioned, 300 students are expected to benefit from 10 more spacious classrooms. Meanwhile, Singh and Son, who has been in the construction business for approximately 15 years, will also construct a new building to accommodate a science lab and expanded classrooms at the St. Winefride Secondary School at the cost of $85 million. Both projects are slated to be completed within five months.
“One of the consequences of more children returning to schools was that we didn’t have enough space. The whole space issue was an issue facing the Ministry for the last couple of years and it wasn’t fixed, so it faced us squarely when we came back into schools for face-to-face education,” Manickchand said. She stressed that with the construction of the additional buildings, which will expand the space to accommodate students, Guyana should be on track to achieve universal secondary education. The expansion falls in line with government plans to construct and rehabilitate schools across the country to ensure students have easy access to learning.
“Every child must be able to access a seat in a secondary school to complete their secondary education, and even as we work on achieving universal secondary education, that is, giving every Guyanese child access to this, we want to make sure that the quality you get here is the same quality you will get at a Queen’s College and The Bishops’ High and Anna Regina Secondary School and all other schools across Guyana, the quality must be the same,” she stressed.