President Adama Barrow and Vice President Jallow at the presentation at State House.
State House, Banjul, 17 April 2024
The Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Honourable Haddy Jatou Sey, led her technical team to brief President Adama Barrow and other executive members on the ongoing projects of the Ministry at the Presidential Delivery Forum held at the State House in Banjul.
The presentation focused on the project funded by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, which aims to build 27 upper and senior secondary schools in six regions of the country. General Procurement Services – GPS is the contractor of lots 1 and 2 of the project.
Meanwhile, MoBSE collaborates with the MRC Holland Foundation, which involves infrastructural development, furnishing classes, and toilet facilities. Through the joint partnership, Gigo Construction completed 9 out of 11 schools contracted to it.
Reacting to the presentation, President Barrow expressed dissatisfaction with the limited information presented at the forum. The President also observed that the technical presentation of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education should expand to include other ongoing projects supporting the Government’s Education Sector Strategic Plan, including constructing upper and secondary schools to make education accessible countrywide. He also insisted on receiving a more comprehensive update on other ongoing school-building projects, especially those that the MRC Foundation supports. The President described the MRC Holland Foundation as a reliable partner that stood by his Government since 2017 in providing education infrastructure.
President Barrow said that despite understanding the challenges, he was disappointed with the less than 50% implementation rate of the school construction and repair projects contracted to General Procurement Services – GPS. On the other hand, he commended Gigo Construction for completing over 70% of Lot 3, the works contracted to it, and for always being on schedule for the delivery of projects he undertook.
The newly appointed Minister for Basic and Secondary Education, Haddy Jatou Sey, remarked that she would work with her technicians to provide an all-encompassing update for informed decision-making.
The MOBSE has been requested to provide a more comprehensive update on projects under its portfolio in a week.