Education Minister, Priya Manickchand has denied opposition claims that her government “abandoned” construction of the $2.6B Hosororo Secondary School.
Clarifying the pause in works, Minister Manickchand in a recent Facebook post, said that the previous contractor had their contract terminated due to non-performance and failure to meet contractual obligations.
She explained that the process of securing a new contractor to complete the facility is now almost complete, underscoring the government’s zero-tolerance policy for project delays.
“The contractor was terminated for non-performance as per the contract. That is not something we are ever happy to do. We would simply prefer that the work is finished so that we could get our children into school, so the PPP/C Govt’s intention and desire to provide seats in school for every child could be realised,” the education minister stated.
Manickchand’s clarification came amid the circulation of a video by “Credible Sources” showing Opposition Member of Parliament, Sherod Duncan doing a walkthrough and declaring that the worksite had been abandoned.
He said that his visit to highlight the project came at the request of residents.
Once completed, the Hosororo Secondary School is designed to accommodate over 500 students. The facility will feature 29 classrooms, modern physics, chemistry, and biology laboratories, and a TVET centre equipped with both industrial and home economics laboratories.
A student dormitory for 200 students and a teachers’ duplex living quarters for 20 teachers will be constructed. The initial contract for the school was signed in July 2023.
