$Multimillion mystery - Auditors called in six years after school spends more than $40 million on a yet-to-be delivered three-storey block

Erica Virtue, Senior Gleaner Writer

More than $40 million has been spent to construct a three-storey classroom block at the Garvey Maceo High School in Clarendon, but six years later all the school has to show for the money is a partially done two-storey structure, and no one, it seems, can explain where the money went.

Four principals, two contractors, two audits, and nearly a million dollars more over budget later, a completion date for the building remains a mystery.

Any explanation of how the money was spent would have to come from the two contractors who worked on the project, but efforts by The Sunday Gleaner to contact them have, so far, been unsuccessful.

However, persons close to the school say there were close ties between school officials and one former contractor, while a former board member was at one time the main contractor, and equipment belonging to a school official was used on the project.

So far, there is nothing to show that the $40-million contract was put to tender before it was initially awarded to the administrator's brother. Also, The Sunday Gleaner could not confirm if the money to build the structure was delivered in tranches and if checks were done by the relevant authorities at intervals to ensure the appropriate use of the funds.

The contract was later awarded to the former school board member, again without any documentation to show that it had been put to tender as required under the Government's procurement rules.

The education ministry is now awaiting a detailed financial audit of the expenditure, but already there are some worrying signs emerging.

Raw steel points upward from what should be the third floor of the unfinished block.

Two rooms appear to be completed and usable on the first floor, and four rooms on the ground floor of what should have
been the sixth-form block with 11 classrooms, two computer labs, male
and female washrooms and two offices.

The building has
been static since 2009, two years after work
started.

The school's past students' association said
it became suspicious in 2010 when work on the classroom block stopped
and there was no word as to when the building would be
completed.

Suspicions heightened when a few miles
away, the Kemps Hill and Denbigh high schools were able to complete new
buildings with significantly less money than was allocated to Garvey
Maceo.

Demanded an audit

President
of the past students' association, Rohan McNellie, said in 2011 he wrote
to the education ministry demanding an audit of the
institution.

McNellie said the response from the
ministry advised him to acquaint himself with procedure, "as implicit in
his request was damaging suggestions about individuals'
integrity".

"All we were seeking to do was to find out
how come the school was left unfinished, why so many closely connected
individuals were involved in the project, and why the school had to
raise funds to furnish some of the classrooms," McNellie told
The Sunday Gleaner.

"We also wanted
to know how come there were no board meetings for months and we
questioned how come decisions were made without the board's approval,"
added McNellie.

He charged that one of the contractors
was at one time appointed by the education ministry as a member of the
school board.

In March 2012, McNellie again wrote to
the education ministry and blasted it for its failure to provide
information of the stalled building.

He warned that
the past students' association was prepared to go to court to get
answers.

Eight months later, the education ministry
wrote to the current school principal, Madge Pinto, informing her that
an audit would be conducted, and named the members of the investigating
team.

According to the ministry, the probe was to
assess the institution's governance arrangements, as well as its general
operational framework and performance, with a view to making specific
recommendations to the minister, Ronald Thwaites, regarding the way
forward.

Audit incomplete

Last week,
permanent secretary in the ministry, Elaine Foster Allen, said the
financial audit ordered is incomplete.

However, Foster
Allen said another investigation commissioned by Thwaites has been
done.

But Thwaites said he could not offer any
comments on the matter as he had not yet read the
report.

A copy of the findings of that report seen by
The Sunday Gleaner identified a teacher at the school
as technical director for the project after the initial contractor left
it.

"Mr XXX is the member of staff who was involved
in the construction of the two buildings that were visited on site …,"
the audit report read.

The report named the buildings
as classrooms and abattoir.

A US$10,000 allocation was
granted for the construction of an abattoir.

The
expenditure on that project is also the subject of the forensic
audit.

The initial contractor could not be contacted
last week and when the teacher was contacted, he denied being project
director.

"I had nothing to do with the project. I am
only a teacher at the school. Make sure you have your information
correct," declared the teacher.

The audit report
showed that the investigators were concerned that a construction fault
in the building was hazardous to occupants; the stairwell to the second
floor was rough-cast, and had no rails; the structure for approximately
half the second floor was not erected; exposed steelwork and electrical
pipes were seen and there were two rough-cast windows and doorless
classrooms on the second floor.

In addition, breaker
covers and exposed electrical wiring were observed in the
physical-education room.

The two completed rooms were
equipped with computers, UPS system and properly secured with grilles.
However, the members of the audit team said they were concerned that
there were cracks in the wall of the server room and other cracks
elsewhere.