Region 10 Chairman claims President hands over $1M to wrong PTA

…as controversy brews over to Kwakwani school repairs

There is controversy surrounding $1 million handed over to the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of the Kwakwani Nursery and Primary School recently by President David Granger.

According to Region 10 (Upper Demerara/ Berbice) Councillor Sandra Adams, the President handed over the sum to the school to assist with repairs to the fence and washroom after parents had approached him with photographs of the present condition of the areas of the school.

However, Adams during the monthly statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) noted that presently there is a “war” brewing over the money among members of the PTA, as she lashed out at the Council for failure to meet the infrastructural needs of the school.

“I felt bad as a regional representative to know that all year we have been talking about these very issues in schools and were told that they are being looked at, that the Works department went up there and is taking care of these things and here it is, a group of parents from the Nursery school took pictures and list all these complaints and the President, out of his good heart because of his interest in education gave them a $1 million. Coming out of that now is another issue, where there’s war over the million in Kwakwani…who must spend it? Who want do this, who want do that,” she stated.

Councillor Adams continued that as a regional administration the Council has the responsibility of taking care of schools’ infrastructure and noted that as such, if it had done its part parents would not have seen the need to consult with the President.

“This is something that we’ve been talking about all year and it made me feel bad as a regional councillor…I don’t mind if the PTA go on something else that would make sense but not on issues that we would have been talking about for the entire year. I’m sure that every minutes of the RDC (would show that) we’ve been talking about schools and infrastructure. So I think that we need to address these things and when it is brought up it is being looked at,” Adams stressed.

But in response, Regional Chairman Renis Morian pointed out the uncertainty of whether all those who approached the President were actually members of the PTA. “I got a call from the school that most of the people who went (to the President) weren’t PTA people. That the real PTA is till in Kwakwani and the President didn’t know that, but when he comes I’m going to give him the names of the people who went and the names of the real people who is (part of) the PTA.”

In defence, Councillor Adams argued that the issues do exist at the school since the photographs had been presented, to which Morian responded, “I don’t know if the pictures they carried come from that school.” (Utamu Belle/Guyana Times)