BUDGET CONTRIBUTION 2013 Pt 9 SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION We move to primary schools, Mr. Speaker. In our three years we built 14 primary schools—three years, we built 14 so far. I forgot to say that by December we will complete another 20 early childhood education centres, [Desk thumping] and in a month’s time we will start another 26 under the IDB phase 2. 80 new ECCE centres throughout Trinidad and Tobago. None, we met none. You built 22 in nine years. We will build 80 in three and a half years. [Desk thumping] The primary schools we have completed—we have constructed—you remember the hon. Prime Minister promised since 2001 the St. Barbara’s Spiritual Baptist School? We built that for them in less than six months. [Desk thumping] St. Barbara’s Spiritual Shouter Baptist Primary School; Balmain Presbyterian Primary School; Lengua Presbyterian; Palo Seco Government Primary. Where is Palo Seco, not deep down south in La Brea? Arima; Penal Rock Road; Tulsa Trace SDMS Primary School; Mount Pleasant Government Primary School; Riversdale Presbyterian Primary Schools. We built that in seven weeks in Riversdale. Seven weeks we built that at a cost of $6 million. Do you know what we inherited from the last regime? Their secondary schools which they started for three years, and they could not reach 20 or 30 per cent in the construction, the cost of those were close to $200 million for one. We are building secondary schools now for about $110 million, $120 million, a reduction of close to $80 million on a secondary school. [Desk thumping] Their primary schools were costing $40 million, none of our schools have cost more than $23 million so far. We built one or two with less than $7 million for them. Mt. Pleasant Government Primary; Riversdale; Tunapuna Government Primary; Enterprise Government Primary. Minister Stephen Cadiz and myself went to Enterprise. We have not formally opened it as yet; a beautiful school for our state-of-the-art school. Eckel Village Primary; Monkey Town—I had the honour and pleasure of opening that with my brother, my colleague, the Member for Oropouche East, recently. It took them eight years—Febeau Village—we promised the people in Febeau Village that we would build a new school for them when we went. Diego Martin North/East; Belmont is in one of their constituencies; New Grant Government Primary; Barrackpore; Cap-de-Ville Government Primary. Manzanilla Government Primary; Rousillac; Lower Cumuto; Curepe Presbyterian; Kanhai Presbyterian; Rio Claro Presbyterian; Egypt Village Government Primary School; Lower Morvant Government Primary School and Union Presbyterian. Those are the schools we are building. Are they in UNC constituencies alone or People’s Partnership? They are in almost every constituency of Trinidad and Tobago. [Desk thumping] Where are the secondary schools we are completing? Pleasantville; Barataria North; St. Joseph; Mount Hope; Carapichaima; Princes Town; Shiva Boys; Parvati Girls’, et cetera. We have 17 blocks to complete—administrative and science blocks to complete in 17 schools. That is the depth and strength of the People’s Partnership Government in terms of creating jobs and employment and getting contractors to the job. Thousands and thousands of people employed in the construction sector in our school programme.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 03:16:10 +0000