'Finish or Vanish' ...Manickchand warns Hits and Jams over Bamia school delay

‘Finish or Vanish’ …Manickchand warns Hits and Jams over Bamia school delay

Sep 15, 2025 News

Kaieteur News – Almost four years since the contract was awarded and five missed deadlines, contractor St8tment Investment Inc. has been given up to October this year to complete the Bamia Primary School in Region 10.

St8tment Investment Inc. must complete Bamia Primary School by October – Manickchand

Sections of the new Bamia Primary School, Region 10.

Newly elected Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand made the call on Sunday, hours after she took the oath of office.

The post was made on her Facebook page. “Just visited the site of Bamia Primary School just outside of Linden in Region 10 which is being built by the Ministry of Local Govt and Regional Development. This school will be completed and the children will enjoy the benefits that the government intended. No ifs and buts. It will finish. The contractors have been made aware that they either finish the project in accordance with our newly set timelines or someone else will.”

In a separate video post at the school site, the minister further explained that the school will cater for the entire Bamia catchment area. She explained that primary school students are currently on shift system.

“We can’t continue that. So, we’ve just had a meeting with the contractor and their subcontractors and gone through all the things that need to be done, and we’re going to be putting someone here fully to make sure that these finishing works will be finished, because for the longest while I’ve been reading that they are close to finishing. But I’ve also seen other schools where there isn’t a push, and other buildings that the last leg of finishing takes forever. We can’t afford that here,” she related.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand on Sunday engaging contractors of the Bamia Primary School project.

Manickchand noted that the children must occupy the school at least by October.

“So, we’re going to make sure we put a project manager on the premises, and run down the things that have to finish. And the contractors have been told that it’s either they finish this or come off the project. So, we’re very clear about what we want for the children who are going to attend here. That’s a serious business for us,” she said.

Earlier this year, St8tment Investment Inc. reported that only minor works had remained to complete the project and that the school would be fully ready for the new 2025 academic year in September.

“With only minor electrical installations, lighting fixtures, and limited plumbing work remaining, the school is on the verge of being handed over,” the contractor said at the time.

The $346 million contract for the Bamia Primary School was awarded to St8tment Investment Inc. in November 2021. Since then, the project experienced several delays due to a range of challenges, including labour shortages, increased material costs, and unfavourable weather conditions. The setbacks collectively impacted the original timeline and contributed to extensions; the contractor claimed.

St8tment Investment Inc. was incorporated in March, 2021. Its principals are Rawle Ferguson and Kerwin Bollers of Hits and Jams Entertainment along with Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major and Kashif Muhammed of the Kashif and Shanghai football tournament.

At the time of the signing, the project was expected to be completed by July 2023. However, the contractor was unable to finish the project, and was given several deadlines to complete the works.

In 2024, the National Assembly approved an additional $127 million towards the completion of the school.

The modern educational building is expected to include 44 classrooms, a fully equipped gymnasium, an auditorium, a science laboratory, a music room, a library, smart classrooms, and modern restroom facilities.

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Bamia Primary School, Hits and Jams, Priya Manickchand, Region 10, St8tment Investment Inc

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