Minister of Works Montgomery Daniel says schools in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are ready to receive students on Monday, despite a delay in a loan from Saudi Arabia, needed to carry out annual repairs.
He said that all basic repairs have been completed and “harder” maintenance would be done when the loan is disbursed.
“… all of the units have been looked at,” he said on NBC Radio on Wednesday, adding that the manager of BRAGSA, the state-owned general services agency, toured schools on the windward side of St. Vincent the previous day “to ensure that work is acceptable and that the school plants will be ready in time for Monday.
“So despite the difficulties, I’m satisfied that work, in terms of the general requirements,… will be done,” said Daniel, who is also deputy prime minister and was acting as prime minister while Ralph Gonsalves was overseas.
“Of course, as I indicated that the most specific and the harder work will be done when the Saudi Arabia funding is available to us and to have all of his school plants fully upgraded at a later time this year,” he said.
“I know that some teachers, some principals, may have some concern here or there, but the general cupboards and the paintings and the cleanliness and so on, all of that … have been taken care of. The electricals — those immediate things, they will have been looked at and the plants will be ready for Monday, September the first 2025.”
Daniel said that the Ministry of Finance had secured a loan from Saudi Arabia for school repairs, but the money would not be available until September.
“But in the budget itself, there was an allocation of $2 million of local funding, to which every year we do repairs to school plans averaging around $4, $5 million.”
He said the Cabinet later allocated a further EC$2 million, which BRAGSA used to repair schools.
“However, all of that outstanding work that was identified earlier on this week, which is to be funded by the Saudi Arabia loan, … will still be done once the funds come into operation,” Daniel said.
“And so, even after school is reopened, BRAGSA still has that contract to do work…” the works minister said.
Why you did not use the money on the schools instead of having an unnecessary cricket festival ? We still want to know how much 💲 was given to each of the retired cricketers while children here can’t afford decent furniture to sit on . Is the school in campdem Park fixed? Heard he principal at the graduation ceremony lamented about insects dropping from he roof on teachers and children, . Just remember all aryo don’t have any shame
And how much is spend on them Elections campaign? By all parties can’t they join and fix the schools?