Less than 24 hours after being appointed Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand on Sunday met with the contractor of the long-delayed Bamia Primary School in Region 10 and issued an ultimatum, “finish this or come off the project.”
The $346 million contract was awarded to St8tment Investment Inc. in November 2021, but the project has suffered repeated delays and has already missed four deadlines.
“This school WILL be completed and the children WILL enjoy the benefit that the government intended. No ifs and buts. It WILL finish. The contractors have been made aware that they either finish the project in accordance with our newly set timelines or someone else will,” Manickchand said in a Facebook post today, following her site visit.
In a video posted to her page, the minister stressed the urgency of the project, noting overcrowding at existing school.
“…Right now what’s happening is the children are on shift, or sitting three, and four in a bench, even when they are on shift, we can’t continue that,” she said.
The minister added, “We can’t afford that here, these children have to come into this school and we are looking at a date in October to begin this.”
She disclosed that she has instructed to have a project manager stationed on-site to ensure the remaining works are completed promptly.
“The contractors have been told, is either they finish this or come off the project. So we’re very clear about what we want for the children who are going to attend here. Serious business for us,” Minister Manickchand said.
St8tment Investment Inc., incorporated in March 2021, is headed by Rawle Ferguson and Kerwin Bollers of Hits and Jams Entertainment, along with Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major and Kashif Muhammed of the Kashif and Shanghai football tournament.
In May 2025, the company had assured that the school would be ready for the new academic year in September. In a statement, the company said that only minor works such as electrical installations, lighting fixtures, and plumbing were left to be done.
