MTHE, MBSSE Deliberate on Construction Design of Ministerial Building
17th August, 2021
The Ministries of Technical and Higher Education and Basic and Senior Secondary Education have held discussions on the design and construction of an Administrative Building for both Ministries through the Education Sector Support Project (ESSP). The meeting was held at the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education's Conference Room, New England Ville.
Being a product of a $68M funding agreement which was signed at the Ministry of Finance on 28th July this year for the design and construction of various buildings and classrooms under the ESSP, the meeting was geared towards soliciting the views of the two Ministries with regards how they would want the seven-story building to be constructed.
The Deputy Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Mr. Sarjoh Aziz-Kamara, commended the fast-paced efforts of the consultants in moving the project forward. He expressed sincere delight over the laudable idea of housing the two Ministries in one building. "We are looking at having a building that enhances our functionality, but also that is targeted at achieving His Excellency's intent of promoting quality education," he said, adding that seeing both Ministries as one sector will promote efficiency in service delivery. He encouraged members present to look at concepts that will keep them together as well as make the building a fully-functional one with all the necessary facilities to make it conducive.
The Deputy Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Madam Emily Kadiatu Gogra, registered her appreciation for the progresses made in so far as the project is concerned, noting that both Ministries will continue to work as a sector. She recommended that the Free Education Project, School Feeding, Teaching Service Commission and UNESCO be housed in one building with the Ministries to address issues relating to the excessive sum of money that Government usually pays for them as rent, adding that a training space should also be considered as part of the construction design.
"...we want to see what has been the shift from the time of the conception of this project to date. You should be able to make sure that in the design process the consultants are fully aware of your current needs, and that will be captured in the designs to be done," said ESSP's Project Coordinator, Ing. Neilford Rose. According to Ing. Rose, a total amount of about $2.4M has been allocated for the design of the seven story building.
The Technical Director of Edward & Associates, Sibyl Herleston, encouraged both Ministries to make their views known with regards how they would want the building to look like, adding that the entire construction design process could only be informed by the needs of both Ministries. She recommended that subsequent meetings be held with a view to bringing in other important stakeholders that will add value to the project.
The meeting was climaxed by a conducted tour of the available land space intended to be used for the construction project.