A Ministerial team today, visited the Kato Secondary School in Region Eight, to get a firsthand look at the state of the building and what needs to be done to the costly school that has never been occupied.
GINA said that the team comprised Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock, Minister of Education Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine and Minister of Social Cohesion Dr. George Norton along with their technical staff. The team was accompanied by Regional Executive Officer for the Region, Raphael Downes and a Guyana Association of Professional Engineers (GAPE) representative.
According to Patterson, the building is in a much worse state since the second audit report, conducted in October 2016. GINA said that the Minister noted that an independent consultant from GAPE will detail the works needed to be done, in addition to what was identified in the two audit reports.
“We will be seeking from them (GAPE), their recommendations. If the consultancy has to be done by a structural engineer, then it is a must…I do think we need a mechanical engineer, and an electrical engineer. As you look around there is no electricity, and if you look around the pipe works are all exposed,” the Minister said.
Roopnaraine said that after looking at the building, there is not much that is “redemptive”. The Minister noted that, “There is a lot of work to do. There is a lot of shabby work that has been done, and I think we have to go into major repairs and reconstruction.”
GINA said that GAPE’s representative, Jean Ramkellawan also voiced similar concern saying that after touring the school, it was clear that a lot of substandard work was done. Based on Ramkellawan’s assessment thus far, “Very poor supervision” is one of the main causes for the condition in which the building is currently.
The Kato Secondary School was built under the previous administration by the construction firm, Kares.
