The new Antigua and Barbuda Institute for Continuing Education (ABICE)/
Harrison Centre will open for Independence, 2023.
That’s the word from Education Minister, Daryll Matthew, who said the planning
for the opening is now underway and that the benefactor of the project, John
Harrison, will arrive in the country to be a part of the activities marking the formal
opening.
Minister Matthew was seeking to clear the area over opposition statements that
claimed that the funds made available by Harrison to construct the new institution
had been exhausted and that entreaties by the government for additional funds had
been rebuffed.
“The UPP chairman was on a radio station suggesting that Harrison had died and
we went to this wife for additional funds and she turned down the request. The
UPP official stated that the funds have been exhausted and there were no money to
complete the project. Nothing is further from the truth,” he stated emphatically.
The minister explained that after the drawings for the ABICE complex were
completed it was recognised that the 4-million pounds allocated by Harrison would
not be sufficient. However, the ministry took a decision that rather than scale down
the building to continue and that the Board of Education funds would be used to
complete the building wherever the Harrison funds left off.
Minister Matthew confirmed that Harrison is alive and well and that both he and
his assistant are kept up-to-date with the progress of the project on a bi-weekly
basis.
He promises that the project will be completed in time for Independence this year
despite what some naysayers have been alleging on opposition-aligned radio
stations.
“We knew that based on what was our concept that the project would cost more
than the 4-million pounds made available by Harrison. We decided ahead of time
to use the BoE money at the tail end as we did not want a scaled down project. We
saw this as an opportunity to upgrade the technical and vocational training that are
being offered in the country,” he stated.
Minister Matthew maintains that there is no scandal contrary to reports that have
been sent to Harrison. “The project will open this Independence,” he stated.
