Parag reads riot act to Region 7 contractors

…flags slow pace of work on school projects

Kaieteur News – Minister of Education, Sonia Parag has flagged slow pace of works on several school projects in Region Seven and has called on the contractors to get their act together in order to meet deadlines.

Minister of Education, Sonia Parag and team inspecting school projects in Region Seven.

Minister Parag and Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Pauline Sukhai led a team of officials on Saturday to inspect several projects in the region.

According to information provided by the Education Ministry, contractors in Region Seven who have delayed infrastructural projects under the ministry will now be required to submit weekly status reports until their respective projects are completed. “We want to keep track of the percentage of works and we also want to have visuals of what is happening on the ground,” Minister Parag stated.

Speaking on the works that are behind schedule, Minister Sukhai related that they would like to see that all the contracts which were awarded be completed in a timely manner. The team visited the site for the Three Mile Secondary School Dormitory. It should be noted that this project is scheduled for completion in December. The ministry noted that with the project slightly behind schedule, Minister Parag has instructed the contractor to extend working hours and double their manpower to get the job done.

“The contractor has agreed and committed to meeting the current deadline, despite significant challenges in getting sufficient construction materials into the community,” the ministry shared.

They ministry noted that the dormitory was previously a single building that accommodated both male and female students. This new project would see the existing building being renovated and a new one being constructed for the girls.

Inspecting another project, the Minister and her team went to the Amerindian community of Karrau, where a secondary school is being constructed. The ministry noted that this project is also behind schedule, owing to difficulties in sourcing construction materials.

Nonetheless, both Ministers emphasised the need for contractors to pull out all the stops to ensure that all projects are completed within the stipulated deadlines. “We are dealing with children, so we have to work,” Minister Parag stated, noting that these investments are critical to the Government’s plan to expand hinterland education and ensure that every child has access to a sound secondary education, regardless of the region they are from.

Another project they visited was the Secondary School Dormitory in Bartica, a project that will feature three separate buildings. The ministry revealed that one of the buildings will be handed over on Wednesday, but overall, the project is approximately 70 percent complete and is slated for completion by the end of October. The ministry noted that, more projects are expected to be inspected in the coming weeks.