A 30-seater bus, which once transported students of the David Rose Special School but was years ago deemed unserviceable, was on Friday towed away by its new owner who indicated to teachers that the vehicle would be used as scrap metal.
On Wednesday last, the police were called in after teachers and students of the institution blocked a group of men from removing the vehicle which the men claimed they had bought.
Stabroek News on Friday visited the school and met Headmistress, Dionne McKenzie, who explained that she had received a call from Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam, who indicated that the new owner would return a second time to remove the bus.
The school’s driver and mechanic, John Bishop, had initially told this newspaper that one of the men who had attempted to move the vehicle had informed him that he purchased the bus, which bore registration PFF 1703, in a bidding process and that he had paid the sum of $110,000 for the vehicle. Bishop noted however, that closer examination of the receipt proffered by the man revealed that there was no signature or stamp indicating that the Education Ministry had sold the bus. He said the man produced an agreement of sale which bore the signature of the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry. Closer examination of that document indicated that the sum mentioned ($110,000) differed from a figure ($304,000) which was stated as the agreed sale price.
However, McKenzie told Stabroek News that when the new owner, Mr Ally (only name provided), returned yesterday, he provided them with another document which bore the stamp of the Office of the Permanent Secretary. This, she said, convinced her that the document was authentic.
“This time I am satisfied that it was done the way in which it should have been done in the first place. Mr Ally would have bought the bus and I am under the expectation that we will benefit from that sale, maybe we will soon have a new bus,” the Headmistress said.
She explained that the bus was donated to the school by Food for the Poor some years ago but noted that any donation made to them would become the property of the Ministry of Education who then has the authority to sell.
McKenzie noted that she has held the post at the Special School for four years during which time, the bus never worked.
According to the teachers, the school currently operates two buses which transport students to and from the school daily. They said the bus in question worked for several months and according to them, the Education Ministry had indicated that it would foot the bills for repairs and fuel for the vehicle.
However, several months after the bus was delivered to the school, it developed a mechanical problem and the school was experiencing difficulties having the bus repaired.
Avril Lyght, a parent who is also a staffer at the institute, told this newspaper that this issue concerns her very much since the school is short of transportation for the children. “Some of them come all the way from Mahaica. If this bus was repaired, it could have fetched a lot of them… There are a lot of single parents who cannot afford to bring their kids here.
“These kids need a new kitchen, a new computer room, they need a lot of things and it is horrible to know they take away the bus,” she added.
