Months after materials from the demolished Aurora school went missing, the Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region 2, Rupert Hopkinson is calling for the case to be reopened since answers are yet to be provided.
Speaking to Stabroek News on Sunday, Hopkinson said that since the materials went missing in January, no answers have been provided to the Pomeroon/Supenaam region and he is urging the police to reopen the case after he was told that no charges could be brought.
“Nobody is following it up, even the police and we want to know where the materials are. I want to know where the material deh,” Hopkinson said, reasserting that according to the contract and the instructions given, the region’s engineer was tasked with the responsibility for the movement of the materials.
“The engineer was given those specific instructions by the REO and by extension the contract which said that the engineer is responsible for the disposal and we clearly stated that the materials must go to the regional office,” he said, pointing out that it was related to him by the police that the Chambers of the DPP had told the police that they could not charge anyone for the disappearance of the material.
Hopkinson asserted that it is in the interest of the people of the entire region that someone “must tell us where the material is” and if the engineer was not the one who “disposed” of the material then the person or persons should be identified.
He explained that according to what he has been hearing around the region, the materials are at several people’s homes but they are yet to make a positive identification.
When asked whether it was not the REO’s responsibility to ensure that the materials were transported to the correct place he said, “The REO can’t run behind materials… The REO don’t micromanage and he can’t run behind those little things, he can’t run behind kokers, rice fields and trenches.” He added that he is calling for the case to be reopened and he feels as if there has been a cover up.
“A whole school can’t be lost. We need to stop the disunity and start co-operating with each other. I want to help build the region,” he said, urging the residents to cooperate with each other in finding the materials which he said will be put to a good cause.
Stabroek News had reported in February that a resident of the Region, Archie Cordis, had stated in a letter to Stabroek News that while the Aurora Primary and Nursery Schools building was demolished on Monday, January 18, so a new concrete and wooden building could be erected on the site, the materials from the building had disappeared.
While it was customary for the materials to go back to the residents, Cordis stated that they had contacted the REO who had told them to put their requests in writing before anything was considered. However, during the time, the material was secretly carted off.
While Hopkinson had confirmed that the materials were carried away, he said it was 80% as about three truck loads were delivered to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC). He also said that while it was indeed policy for the materials to be returned to the RDC where it would have then been utilised in the region somehow, he had given the instructions, to the regional engineer, to see that the materials were taken to the RDC office.
Chairman of the Region, Devanand Ramdatt had told Stabroek News that the issue could have been prevented if the REO had implemented a rigorous system. “If the region is doing any construction work then it is public funds and most of the time materials are given back to the community,” he said, stating that even if the instructions were given to the Regional Engineer, a stronger monitoring system should have been put in place to make sure that the materials were taken to the RDC. “Even if he had mandated the engineer to do so then the engineer should explain what happened to the materials,” he added.
