By Damian Mitchell, Staff ReporterCABINET HAS given the green light for the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) to undertake the rehabilitation of 59 schools in seven parishes. The schools were damaged by Hurricane Ivan.
Information Minister Burchell Whiteman, addressing Monday's post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, said the UDC had organised several teams to conduct assessments, provide estimates, prepare contracts and execute the bidding for the
contracts.
"This is an attempt to speed up the process because as you know the education sector is one sector where, in particular, time lost is very difficult to recover," Mr. Whiteman pointed out. He added that Government must prioritise students, especially those sitting examinations.
The Senator noted that contracts exceeding $4 million must be referred to the National Contracts Commission before going to tender.
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He said the 'multi-disciplinary' UDC teams comprised project managers, quantity surveyors, architects and engineers. Senator Whiteman said that they were currently completing their assessments of damage done to schools to provide by October 15, a detailed evaluation for the repairs to each facility.
At the same time, five schools are still being used as shelters but the population at these venues have been reduced, according to Senator Whiteman.
He said initial assessments by the UDC have confirmed reports that displaced roofs accounted for a significant majority of the damage to schools.
