Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves gave the green light on Sunday for work to begin on a temporary campus on Arnos Vale, two days three days before consulting the parents of the Union Island students for which it is being built.
And, work to convert the former Teachers’ College campus into three schools for Union Island students began on Tuesday, one day before the prime minister met with the parents to explain the plan to them.
This means that students of the Union Island Secondary School and the Mary Hutchinson and Stephanie Browne primary schools will continue their education at the Arnos Vale site in September.
On Wednesday, Gonsalves consulted evacuees who moved to St. Vincent after the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl in the Southern Grenadines on July 1.
He held a similar meeting in Union Island on Thursday.
He announced at the consultation at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown on Wednesday that he had given permission on Sunday for work to begin on the Arnos Vale site.
According to government estimates, Hurricane Beryl damaged or destroyed 95% of buildings in the Southern Grenadines, but Union Island suffered the brunt of the storm’s fury.
The roof of the secondary school was damaged and the two primary schools were extensively damaged.
About a week after the storm, the prime minister began floating the idea that his government would build temporary campuses in St. Vincent so that students from Union Island could continue their education with the rest of the nation’s children in September.
The prime minister further announced that the government would pay to accommodate one of each student’s parents in guest houses in St. Vincent until their homes and schools are repaired
However, Terrance Ollivierre, MP for the Southern Grenadines, where Union Island is located, maintained that the government must consult residents of the island before any such decision is made.
Opposition Leader Godwin Friday noted the history of the pre-existing temporary school in St. Vincent, noting that the Girls High School has been located in a temporary school at Arnos Vale for three academic years.
Further, work on the Bequia Community High School, which should have taken one year, is into the third year, he told Parliament on July 18.
On Monday, the government announced the consultations in Kingstown and Union Island.
About 1 hour and 36 minutes after he began speaking at the consultation in Kingstown on Wednesday, by which time he had fielded a number of questions, Gonsalves said:
“This is a fascinating consultation. I still want to hear your view. Do you agree with me how I want to approach the education issue? Because I want you to help me. Do you agree with my approach?”
A few people said “yes” and even fewer said “no”.
Gonsalves continued:
“Well, I don’t hear anybody say no. All right. All right. Well, this is an important issue because — important issue.”
He then asked if there were any other questions and members of the audience went on to raise issues of concern to them.
The prime minister put the question to the audience before a presentation by Dimitri Samuel, an architect in the Ministry of Economic Planning, about the plan for the multi-school campus at Arnos Vale.
Meanwhile, in his earlier presentation, Gonsalves told the audience that he wants the students of Union Island to begin classes with the rest of the nation on Sept. 2.
“If I don’t start them on the second of September and I start them on the ninth of September, nobody go punish me for that,” he said.
“But I do not see how we can have the extent of the housing which is a critical thing down in Union to be able to have the children going to school back in Union.”
Gonsalves said the government is repairing the secondary school and constructing a concrete building for the primary school in case they have to be merged temporarily.
At the same time, the government is trying to work on some of the houses that were affected by the storm.
“.. but while that is taking place, I have another plan working along with that,” Gonsalves said.
He spoke about his plan to house all three Union Island schools at the former Teachers’ College compound in Arnos Vale.
“While I doing what I doing in Union, just in case, and I don’t see how that could finish in time, but just in case. We have to be working there,” Gonsalves said and held up a letter-size page of the artist’s rendering of how the school are going to be situated on the Arnos Vale compound.
The prime minister explained that the compound has a lab that the government would equip “with computer room and everything”.
He then announced that work had already begun to prepare to convert the site into a temporary campus for the Union Island schools.
“Just like what you see we start down Union and the secondary school, Sunday, I gave them instructions to start this… So let me put it this way. I believe that although to do this going be the more expensive option…”
Gonsalves said that option is more expensive because while it will cost EC$2 million to build out the temporary campus, it will cost more than EC$2 million to complete the work being done on the schools in Union Island.
“But up here, I’d have to provide accommodation for 450 or 475 students, at least 475 parents and I’ll have to provide maybe 75 teachers,” Gonsalves said.
“And I have to do that in guest houses and private homes. And I’m prepared — I’ve given the Ministry of Tourism instructions to rent for three months, for six months, for 10 months the guest houses, whatever houses there are. I tell them don’t just call people, put it out, advertisement. And I’m putting it out here. I want the guest houses. I want the homes which you have to rent,” he further said.
Holding up a copy of the EC$136 million supplementary budget that the government approved last week, Gonsalves said:
“I put the money yah too. It going cost a whole heap of money.”
It is worrying the attitude the current PM shows in the wake of this first hurricane. He behaves as if what he says will be what is going to happen. Nothing is further from the truth. It might take another five years to fix the Grenadines back to what it was. It might just only affect the children contrary to what we know will happen.
Ralph’s first move should be to get the schools back on track. Is he trying to get the total population of the Grenadines to the mainland?
The people can start working in their homes by helping others with repairs. Many homes have missing roofs and with the right materials many homes can be back with rooms to house their families.
There is no way the children will be comfortable coming to the mainland daily and returning to the Grenadines. This puts a lot of pressure on both the parents and the children. Why spend money to bring the children to the mainland. Just spend the money in the Grenadines.
It is sad that we can turn something so devastating into a political football. Tell me were you appalled when you saw half-baked people gyrating in the streets when people had lost their homes? People partying while others wailing. Where is your outrage for that? People, don’t have a pity party about the PM. Rather have solutions to the problems. Everyone wants to sit around talking to the PM while behind your backs he takes care of you in all kinds of arena. However the political demagogues would never know or say. You have a problem, come with a solution and stop playing your broken records at a time of national crisis. Ask not what country can do for you but what you can do for your country, no matter what party is in power.
Politicians are all men and prone to arrogance. They are not Jesus Christ. If one is looking for the attributes of Jesus in a man, you will never find it. Instead look to the one who has not fallen short of His glory. Stop making politicians more than they would ever be.