An entire school building is missing
Dear Editor,
On Monday, January 18, 2016 The Aurora Primary and Nursery Schools that once housed the Secondary School also was dismantled by a contactor in order that a new concrete and wooden building would be erected on the very site. This building was carefully taken down to preserve the materials and zinc. As expected the residents from the community made an approach to the Regional Executive Officer Mr. Rupert Hopkinson to have some of the materials in order for them to build or extend pens for rearing of poultry, livestock, pigs and cattle.
The R.E.O. rightly advise those persons to put their request in writing and send it to his office for consideration, because all the materials would be taken to Anna Regina and taken into custody of the Regional Administration. These materials were then loaded into trucks by the workers on site on different dates and time and I must say sometime during the hours of darkness. The trucks headed into the direction of Anna Regina where we all know, materials of all types and equipment are lodged, stored and parked, for the Region. More than a week after the last of the about twenty trucks laden with materials left the Aurora School situated right next to the Aurora Police Station, it was discovered that not a single truck with materials turned up at the Ministry location where they were intended to be stored.
The R.E.O. was contacted by concerned citizens of the community and other areas of the region. As a result, he made contact with the persons from Aurora including me. A discussion was held with us on Sunday, 31st January, 2016; we were not impressed with the reasons he advanced for him not being able at that point in time to account for the peoples materials.
We are contending among other things that our grandparents, our parents, our children and some of our grandchildren attended that school and through the Parent Teachers Association and other means or ways have made a significant contribution toward the delivery of education through that said school; it is galling to see it is stolen from us.
It is generally agreed we would have preferred to see these materials given to the Muslim, Hindu and Christian Churches in Aurora, and to the many play grounds in the region for the construction and extension of pavilions.
I am saying a lot of people from within the community that is to say Good Hope – Pomona and elsewhere are totally dissatisfied or getting to the point of being angry as more and more information is unraveling into the public domain, because they all know how many millions of dollars they were told was spend on renovation and extension during the last decade or so. There are persons, particularly the R.E.O. who is the Accounting Officer for the region must say how much they know, when they knew it and what they did.
It is interesting to note that I caused an article to be published in the Kaieteur News on Friday 15th January, on page 31, under the caption ‘The story of a missing Heart Machine and also mentioned in that article was the disappearance of a dental equipment. At the time of writing this letter I am not sue if the authority has located this priceless piece of equipment or if persons were held for questioning. Now less than a month later it is the story of a missing school. Now what should we expect, failing to have a thorough investigation into this nasty act would be an indictment on the part of the regional authorities, for they rightfully would be accused of supporting questionable activities. It is the belief of many people that this issue would add to the long list that ready exists during the previous administration. I hope that they are wrong.
Archie W. Cordis
Former A.F.C. Councillor
Region 2
