Hon Walwyn finally admits cost of ESHS wall is over $1M
It was first and accurately reported by our newsroom last year that the Minister spent well over One Million and Seventy-eight Thousand Dollars ($1,078,000.00) on a wall at the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) in 2015. This information was revealed in the HoA by Premier Smith, who in February 4, 2016, revealed that $828,000.00 and $250,000.00 was spent in 2015 just before the snap elections for a perimeter fence for ESHS.
Hon Walwyn subsequently told a local radio station that the Premier provided inaccurate information to the public via the House of Assembly (HoA) as his Ministry’s records show a different figure for the ESHS wall- costing only “nine hundred and fourteen thousand dollars.”
The second term Minister for Education and Culture, told the local radio station that the over million dollar figure provided by the Minister of Finance was for other works done beside the wall and even works on Virgin Gorda.
Wall $1M & counting
Questioned on the cost of the perimeter wall today in the House of Assembly by Opposition Leader Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1), Hon Walwyn revealed that the total cost to date is $1,068,292.91 and that the budgeted cost to complete the project is estimated at $251,411.05.
It was also revealed that the bulk of the expenditure occurred during the election year, 2015.
“Madam Speaker, in 2014 a total of $96,727.40 was expended on the perimeter wall upgrade project for the Elmore Stoutt High School. The figure represents the portion of wall inclusive of civil works, rails and painting…in 2015, Madam Speaker, Cabinet approved a total of $828,004.10 for the construction of the perimeter wall at the Elmore Stoutt High School campus. The total amount expended on the total perimeter wall upgrade project at Elmore Stoutt High School from 2014 to date, inclusive of all costs, is $1,068,292.91. This figure is the total amount expended for the years, as I said, 2014 and 2015,” Hon Walwyn stated.
Selection process for contracts was done by Minister
For the wall project so far, 15 Petty Contracts, 87 Purchase Orders and 72 Work Orders have been issued, the bulk of which was issued in 2015.
It was revealed too that the Minister himself was responsible for selecting the contractors for the wall project.
“Madam Speaker, the process used to select contractors for the project was done by the Minister for Education and it comes from a rotating list of persons in the Ministry that we have who had shown an interest in receiving contracts from the Ministry of Education and Culture.”
Hon Walwyn has been heavily criticised for the project, especially since the National Democratic Party (NDP) Administration left the country broke after the 2015 elections and public schools cannot get basic items.
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39 Responses to “Hon Walwyn finally admits cost of ESHS wall is over $1M”
Becareful before we get massa to operate from the cell with namesif you want evidence.