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‘Opening of day and night care facility cannot be rushed’ – Human Services Minister
…WIN says comments confirm clear political agenda
(Kaieteur News) – The opening of the country’s inaugural day and night care facility, at Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara cannot be rushed, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Vindhya Persaud has said.
The facility was commissioned since August 2025, but has not yet opened its doors to the public. Highlighting concerns over the state of the building this week was the main political opposition party, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN). Leader of the movement, Azruddin Mohamed recently visited the building which remains closed with vegetation taking over the fence and compound.
He described the initiative as an elections gimmick, commissioned days before elections but not serving the people. The leader also raised questions about the whopping $94 million price tag attached to the facility.
Notably, government did not address concerns relating to the cost of the one-story building, but assured that parents will benefit soon.
The state of the facility, highlighted by WIN Leader, Azruddin Mohamed.
Minister Persaud, during an event on Thursday evening on the West Coast of Demerara, did not give a specific date for the opening, but indicated that the facility will come on stream within the first quarter of this year. She added that registration has commenced for children, while staff at the facility continue to ensure the environment is safe.
“The staff within the building continues to work to ensure that when that facility opens it will be a safe, transformational environment because when we put children in a first of its kind building, we want to get it right the first time. It must not and cannot be rushed.”
President Irfaan Ali, while at the same event, also responded to Mohamed.
“When we commissioned that school, we said that not long within the first quarter, the operationalisation of the school will come into effect because we have to train people specifically for the staff that is required for that school,” Ali explained.
For instance, he noted that the security has to be different since the institution will be catering to the needs of a very special age group. The president added that the facility was designed for about 50 children with enrollment already ongoing.
Meanwhile, in an invited comment, the WIN leader questioned why the necessary systems were not implemented prior to the launch of the facility.
“If the government knew that critical systems such as teacher training and security were not in place, then the obvious question is why the facility was rushed to be commissioned in the first place,” Mohamed told this newspaper.
He maintained that the opening was not driven by genuine readiness but by political timing.
Shifting his attention to government’s silence on the extraordinary cost of the building, the leader said, “It is telling that the government chose not to address our concerns about the price tag. That silence speaks volumes. A single-story building of that size does not cost $94 million.”
He argued that government simply cannot provide a full and independent accounting of the cost, leaving questions about the true value and where the remaining sum went.
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