A damning report of a technical audit outlining numerous defects uncovered at the Kato Secondary School was yesterday presented to the National Assembly even as the firm responsible for the works defended its performance, while accusing the government of making the issue political and not requesting corrections as provided for in the contract.
“The issue has taken a deliberate, in our opinion, political slant… The building was under warranty and corrections could have been made. The government requested none,” contracting firm Kares Engineering said in a statement, while noting that it is prepared to meet the government to fix the defects.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Public Infra-structure facilitated an onsite visit of the school, with the representatives of the consulting firm Rodrigues Architects Limited (RAL), which was the company that conducted the audit. There was ample evidence of poor construction, including unstable safety bars, termite-infested wood, cracked and crumbling concrete floors and walls, steel protruding out of the walls, and faulty installation of equipment in the science lab. The firm’s report has concluded that construction was done poorly in some respects in order to maximize profits.
