Contractors working on schools must deliver

Having been reappointed to the education portfolio, Minister of Educational Transformation, Chad Blackman, says he is focused on infrastructure assessments and keeping contractors accountable for the work they do at the island’s educational institutions.

During the tour of St Alban’s Primary School on Friday, Blackman commended the school’s leadership, particularly Principal Wendine Prince, whom he described as “visionary,” crediting her for steering the school to excellence despite limited resources. “St Alban’s is really punching above its weight,” he said.

However, the Minister also used the visit to highlight ongoing challenges, particularly the standard of infrastructure work being carried out by contractors across schools.

“There’s a lot of things that need to be done in terms of work,” he said. “The plant is good, but over time, of course, wear and tear continues to be an issue amongst our schools, and the quality of work in my view has to also be ramped up. This school is coastal, not too far from here is the beach, and when you look therefore at coastal erosion, not just in terms of beaches, but in terms of the sea sprays on metal and how it affects the school plant, that is something that we have to address.”

Blackman made it clear that substandard performance by contractors will not be tolerated.

“I can tell you that I have a zero tolerance for any substandard work. Why is that? It is not only about ensuring that our schools continue to have good infrastructure and that the principals and teachers and ancillary staff and students can be in a wholesome and safe environment and fit for purpose,” he said.

He emphasised the importance of ensuring taxpayer value, stating, “I’ll be ensuring that everyone who is working in terms of their services give their best, and if it’s subpar, then we’re going to have to have a conversation because it cannot be that the public of Barbados is paying you to do a job and you’re not delivering on their behalf. It’s that simple.”

While Blackman acknowledged the importance of carving out work for small contractors to earn a living, subpar work cannot be excused, he stressed.

“The idea is to make sure that we can let our small contractors around the country get part of the pie in building out their own capacity in their business. So it’s a balance, but it cannot be that substandard work is the order there.” (SB)