Gopeesingh: Finish building schools

When the previous administration demitted office, he said, 78 schools were under construction, some were 95 percent completed, some 80 percent and some 50. “Finish the schools,” he said, “and don’t carry your spite as you did with Biche (primary) and now the Couva Children’s Hospital.” Claiming that the local government elections was an indictment on Government and hence the UNC won the popular vote, he said, the cutting allocations to vital sectors was the reason “why people did no come out to support you in this election.” Government, he said, cut $569 million from current transfers and subsidies. Grants to assisted-secondary schools, he said, were cut by $9.6 million; grants to assisted-primary school, $23.8; grants to government secondary schools, $10.1 million; grants to Servol Junior Life Centre, $2.5 million, and grants to Student Support Services which looks after students with disabilities, $3.5 million.

“They reduced ECCE (Early Child Care Education) by $9.2 million, and National Dietary Service, by $84 million,” he said.

Claiming that Government had money to spend during the last fiscal year, he said, that $185 million under the development programmes was returned to Consolidated Fund because of Government’s incompetence and lack of capacity to deliver.