Cabinet waives tender process for $132K repair contract to ESHS
The L-shaped building at the Elmore Stoutt High School campus in Road Town.
As time elapses further into the academic year, repairs are yet to begin on the L-shaped building at the hurricane-ravaged Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) campus in Road Town.
Cabinet, however, has decided to waive the tendering process required to secure management services for restoration works to be done on the said building.
The contract has been awarded to SA Architect at a cost not exceeding $132,142.45. SA Architect is the firm that was hired to provide contract management services for the perimeter wall around ESHS.
According to Cabinet’s release of its October 25 decisions, the tendering process was waived “due to the familiarity with, and urgency of the project”.
Senior ESHS students were first promised that they were going to relocate to the Road Town campus by the start of the new academic year which began in September.
That date was missed due ‘time-consuming technical procedures’ that reportedly had to be addressed before the education ministry could have moved on with actual work to the school.
Education Minister Myron Walwyn has said the project is slated to be completed within the school year’s first term which ends around mid-December.
Residents, students, and educators have remained anxious for the facility to be repaired.
The 2017 hurricanes destroyed the school’s electrical system and panels, and wiring. Lights and fixtures will also need replacing on all four floors of the L-shaped building before it becomes student-ready. The is also some infrastructural works to be done.
The Caribbean Development Bank is funding repairs to the facility.
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I dont have a phd but if it took $1M to build a simple wall, how will it take $132K to repair that size of building? What does repair entail?
Now if it will cost $132K, why couldn’t this be considered before? Afterall, the costs could have been covered with 5 months of the rental cost for CTL building (31K per month x 5 months).
Makes me wonder….
Get atleast a primary level certificate in reading. This is not the cost to repair. This is cost to secure management services.
Did you even read the article? This is what is wrong with this place. We are soo much in a hurry for bad news that we don’t take time to understand. The 132k is for the consultant. CDB riles of borrowing always call for a consultant to oversee projects that they are funding.
Did you read the story at all? Even just a little bit? WTF?
Exactly, how is it that repair to the school is so simplistic but yet building a dumb perimeter wall was so overly costly and complicated?
I know there is no way that budget is realistic or practical. Seems like a stunt to by time, and save face.
Election time is just about here.
That figure represents management services, not re-constructions or repairs
Please read and comprehend. Where does it say in the article that figure is for management services?
The article clearly says “The contract has been awarded to SA Architect at a cost not exceeding $132,142.45. (Please don’t ignore the full stop).
The rest of the sentence says:
“SA Architect is the firm that was hired to provide contract management services FOR THE PERIMETER WALL around ESHS.”
This is a waste of time but here goes. Please read the 2nd and 3rd paragraph. Read them 10 times. Please reply to inform whether or not you still hold the same position. AND FOLKS, THAT IS WHY OUR TEACHERS NEED TO BE PAID MORE. I DEFINITELY DO NOT HAVE THE SKILL OR PATIENCE FOR THIS! NUFF RESPECT TEACHERS!
When the government gets done filling their pockets on this project you’ll see it will cost $132k just to cut the grass. Too bad you can’t sell stupid because the Territory would be the richest place on the planet.
Is it a conflict to offer such service without procurement/bidding and to a government employee (the beneficial owner of that company)? Doesn’t public works have civil and architectural engineers that should be able to handle such projects?
Otherwise why are they sending or FUNDING students in 4 year colleges and universities to be lawyers only.
This guy they gave the contract to has 1 employee. Not —— to manage anything. Wife is friends with the education minister and he gets the jobs. Your all freakin stupid Wake up and realize what’s going on.
This is how it works. They issue a bunch of over priced contracts close to election to get money from that to pay for the party campaign. Look at History. Always the same time a boost in contracts of the public’s funds to pay for their campaign.
I rather here about calling election first so that the governing party could be held accountable for starting and finishing these projects.
that building has been left exposed for over a year, its going to take a lot more than 132 k to repair it
READ!!! 132k is for consulting…..
But isn’t this the same company project manager under investigation for the wall. How the Governor let this pass in cabinet why they just could not speed up the tender process. The BVI people are been hoodwinked. Some people in the BVI can do whatever they want and get away.
Because the Governor isn’t here for petty politics. If the company did anything wrong they would not be awarded a new contract. The Governor sits right there in Cabinet as well in case you didn’t know.
$132,000 + $265,000 for the wall….nice…how much is the Education Minister’s kickback?
The article clearly states that tendering was waived to issue a management contract to the company, not a construction contract.
$132k for what exactly is the scope of works for that amount? Since the tender was waived and this firm short-listed; as it is public funds we should not exactly what are the deliverables per the contract. Not interested in the micro-details but the scope at the very least. Notwithstanding; I notice that this firm appears to be the ‘go to’ for the MEC and what exactly has their performance to date garnered? Is it not the same firm that has a hand in the over-priced, under-valued and eyesore of wall at said campus? I doubt that the $132k is for the repairs, more likely for the management fees alone which is ridiculous if so as PWD have staff that can site & project manage this as they’re all (PWD) on a go slow atm.
Is the governor fast asleep or is he overpowered? SA Architecture was featured in the AG’s report in relation to the wall around the ESHS, how is it the same Firm in now awarded contract for repairs to the same school. All I can say is wow, wow, wow.
The reason given is the “urgency of the project”. But why is the project now urgent? Because government waited over a year to start considering the problem.
Here we go again! Breaking more rules
The government bureaucracy that has led to this lengthy delay should be trashed. Its ridiculous that it is taking over a year to get to this point, and the repairs have not even begun.
If a private business was being managed in this snail paced way, it would have already gone bankkrupt. Meanwhile, the kids remain displaced. Terrible.
Steve Augustine again???aint he the same one with the wall??
DRAIN THE SWAMP
Hurricanes Irma and Maria ravaged the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) campus , the largest high school in the territory, in September 2017. As a result of the devastation, other arrangements were made to accommodate the students. The old CTL facility is being used as a temporary facility, operating on a shift system. Undoubtedly, there is an urgency to get the ESHS campus repaired. Nonetheless, the ravaging effects of the storms in a twisted way is a silver lining, if any, that provided the opportunity to do something different with ESHS campus.
The pros and cons of repairing ESHS in like kind needs some sober debate.
Moreover, human capital is the BVI prime resource and it must be a priority investment to set a strong foundation to facilitate economic growth, development and sustainability. Planning, programming, budgeting, designing, constructing and maintaining real property educational facilities is a vital investment on human capital. The facilities must be adequate, modern and high quality.
Further, a current article running on BVI News indicates that a study by Canadian firm Dillon Consulting in concert with Town & Country Planning projected that the BVI population will balloon to 50,487 by 2040. As such, now is the time to plan for the projected growth, ie, education, medical, infrastructure, public safety, housing, agriculture……etc? New facility projects should be planned with the future in mind; excess capacity should be planned now for the anticipated growth.
Consequently, suggest that the ESHS campus be razed, resited, redesigned, and constructed to optimize the use of this piece of scarce, prime real estate in the midst of Road Town, the BVI capital city. Further, the BVI lies geographically in the path of hurricanes origining off the cost of Africa; it is highly to vulnerable to personal and property damages caused by hurricanes. It is not if but when the next major hurricane will hit the BVI. Thus, the ESHS campus should be designed and constructed to withstand a Cat 5 hurricane and used as a rideout shelter during hurricanes.
What’s the requirement!?
I am amazed as to the continuous reckless spending of this administration. What is the purpose of public works department. Don’t they have qualified engineers and project managers to look oversee public projects? They have money to do what they want to do while tonloads of people who they say don’t qualify for help with their roofs got soaking wet yesterday.
Qualified where? You better hold a seat and stop talking nonsense!
I thought they had people with doctorate degrees and stuff at Public Works. So what is their purpose then? One might have thought that everything was set in place for PWD to manage jobs on government buildings. dohhhh sound like I’m out the loop so excuse me
After 14 months after Irma destroyed the school they are now looking to take action and calling it urgent…what about months ago when the tendering process could have been effected. This is at least showing a lack of good management and governance. Irma didn’t hit September 2018…she hit September 2019…SMH
Look how the BVI public being hoodwinked again…we really sleeping. OMG!!!! Sickening but do the maths.
Who owns CTL building that they renting for 30K a month? Are the owners part of the NDP Party? Why wasn’t this “urgent” study undertaken sooner or the need for it seen sooner? And dem dere vying for leader of this country. Sorry folks…this is sad sad sad…HL gotta be rolling in his grave…
Do you ask that question when the concrete man and others getting contracts? BVI is small and majority of business persons here have political leanings toward either of the main parties so we should just exclude them from benefiting in their own country because they support a particular party? If we rushed the school you would be upset. If we did it half way and unsafe for the kids you would be upset. Show me another option outside of the CTL building where school could have been had. You weren’t commenting when despite the shift system and being crammed into one building, our students were successful and exceeded expectations with their examinations locally and regionally. I agree it has taken too long but everything shouldn’t be about politics.
Is not the Ministers sit the test…is not the Minsters prepare the students to sit the test…the success of the students comes from the dedication of hard-working teachers and other regular public servants who went above and beyond the call despite the Administration continue to subject to work under deplorable conditions…but it is the Ministers who continue to mismanage this territory’s business so please stop with your nonsense since you agree it has taken way too long and it is unfortunately all about politics because the Ministers continue to make it so…don’t blame us for responding to the narrative and tone they set…
Does the BVI have a unicameral assembly? Is Cabinet the upper house? Was SA Architecture the management firm that was on the Great Wall around the ESHS that suggested 70 contractors for a 1500’ wall? Did the ESHS got damaged in September 2017? If so why is the repairs an emergency in November 2018? Should not the emergency declaration have been in say October 2017?
If the government is really paying that amount of money to CTL, we are being short changed. A lot of repair needs to be done. Things hung from the roof precariously,there is one urinal and one toilet for approximately 700 boys and two toilets for about the same number of girls. The noise in the building is horrendous at times.Can’t blame CTL for this. We just need to be out of there as soon as possible before we all go deaf. When it rains heavily, the roof leaks and this has been going on from the first day we entered that building. Can’t see why the owners of that building can’t take half of the rent money one month and fix the problem.
Meanwhile we the taxpayers have paid the owners of the CTL building just about $448,000 in rent since Irma and we continue to pay them about $32K a month…you telling me the high school couldn’t have been fixed sooner when primary schools were getting fixed??????????????
When are the citizens of this territory going to start a group united for responsible government in this territory. Can we really continue to rely on the Opposition alone?
I used to be a Donald Trump fan until I just realized he is not anywhere near as smart as Myron. Trump has just signed a contract to build 6 miles of border wall for $145 mill. That is $4,577 /ft. Yes it is 3 times as high as the school wall and has huge footings but our polititions could teach Trump a lesson .
With the midterm elections in the states , trump should have given out 1508 petty contracts to his friends at $96,117 each for 21 ft sections and just like here could have secured a bunch of votes.
This government hasn,t learned or they are just willful. When they behave that way ,who do they expect to pay back the loan.? How much of that money will piggy back for election? Sad to see the people who should want to grow this country are the ones destroying it.