The issue of the continued closure of several schools since September 2012 and infrastructural problems plaguing others continue to be very topical. There has been much vacillation and spin by the powers that be in explaining tardy repair works performed on schools by contractors sub-contracted by the Educational Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL), but an important point seems to have been deliberately sidestepped.
Since completion of works during the July/August 2011 school vacation repair programme one year ago, more than 650 contractors have not been paid for repair and infrastructural works performed on behalf of EFCL. Almost 16 months have since passed with contractors being owed millions of dollars, while the minister and EFCL continue to make empty promises.
During Parliament in March 2012 and in response to a statement on corruption in EFCL by Colm Imbert, the Minister of Education responded that "...the Government is expected to clear a $400 million bond soon. He said that would take care of most of the EFCL's debt to contractors in the next few weeks."
That was in March 2012. To date, 35 weeks after that statement was made, more than 650 contractors have still not been paid! Thirty-five weeks after that statement was made, the same minister repeated the same story again, stating that "...a $400 million Government bond has been established to ensure contractors hired to complete schools would get paid on time." And so the same story continues.
Contractors are now refusing to perform works for the EFCL. The accounts department of the EFCL continues to be bombarded with calls from frustrated contractors who have not being paid for works completed and approved, more than 15 months after completion of such works. Many first-time contractors have now been sub-contracted by the EFCL, happy to receive a contract but ignorant of alleged favouritism in the receipt of payments.
The Minister of Education must state who, if any, are the EFCL employees who have allegedly recently formed contracting companies, or who have significant interest in contracting companies, who prioritise payments to their own companies while hundreds of other contractors have been waiting since October 2011 for payment?
The Minister of Education must also indicate the status of the audit into EFCL promised by himself in March 2012. Is the audit into EFCL, if it was ever done, simply the right hand auditing the left hand? Come clean Mr Minister and EFCL and pay contractors monies due to them. To wait 15 months for payments for works completed and approved is a gross injustice.
Shameed Hosein
Barrackpore