HARPER, Maryland – Since Cape Palmas High School students were relocated to a temporary facility for the post-Ebola renovation of their school, the construction process has suffered a series of setbacks.

The high school was meant to undergo a minor renovation after Ebola but when the contractor started work on the edifice, authorities realized that a more thorough renovation was necessary.

This began a process of back and forths where bureaucratic holdups in Monrovia, bad roads and weather, coupled with disagreements between the current contractor and local officials, has resulted in a delay of the school’s construction.

This delay has forced students of Maryland’s oldest high school to inhabit a facility that every morning is filled with feces due to trespassers using the grounds for defecation.

During a recent visit to the area, construction on the school building was at a standstill.

Varfee Bility, the procurement director for the Kaha Construction Company, explained that the renovation was halted after county authorities increased the value of the construction contract to US$94,410, from an initial US$47,000.

After initially receiving the US$47,000 and completing the wood framing for the building, Bility said the company was instructed not to use the already-purchased aluminum roofs but rather, to purchase Onduline-branded roofing sheets, which would be more suitable for the building’s close proximity to the sea.

Bility blames a highly bureaucratic system that has all decisions about disbursing funds being made in Monrovia. He said after the Ministry of Education signed a voucher as part of the second installment to the company, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning issued a check for the continuation of the renovation.

That check was never cashed.

“Frustratingly, authorities at the Central Bank of Liberia refused to make the money available on grounds that the 2014-15 fiscal year budget under which said the amount was appropriated had elapsed,” he said.

Varfee Bility, procurement director of Kaha Construction Company. Photo: Zeze Ballah

Bility emphasized that due to the delay in the disbursement of government funds, he does not foresee the possibility of the students returning to their original building for the already started academic year.

“The company was anticipating that the government would fast-track the renovation work on the building to enable the students to return, but that is not the case now,” Bility said.

But despite Kaha’s attribution of the delay on bureaucratic holdups, some local officials have expressed some skepticism about the company’s account. While not outright accusing the company of any wrongdoing, they suggest that some of Kaha’s actions may have contributed to the slow pace of work.

Tabie Thompson, Maryland’s project planner, said he had proposed using Onduline-branded roofing material and the contractor accepted the renovation specifications.

As for Kaha’s claim of having purchased the incorrect roofing material before being notified of the changes, Thompson said he doubted that account but did not have any proof.

“It is untrue that the contractor initially purchased aluminum zincs and brought them to Harper,” he said, before adding, “I cannot dispute that the contractor purchased zincs but the local county authorities did not see any materials.”

Tabie Thompson, Maryland’s project planner. Photo: Zeze Ballah

Nevertheless, he partly attributed the failure of the contractor to install the proper roofing material to the company’s lack of presence in Maryland. Thompson also expressed his view that the discussions concerning the school’s renovation had been mostly held in Monrovia, away from local authorities.

Additionally, he noted that the Ministry of Finance only had offices for the Liberia Revenue Authority in Harper, which meant that inspectors had to make the long journey from Monrovia every time the project reached a different phase and a disbursement of funds were necessary.

Maryland’s Sen. J. Gblehbo Brown concurred with Thompson that the decision to use Onduline materials was made before the contractor started work on the building.

However, these accounts may conflict with a letter that Besty T. Kuoh Toe, superintendent of Maryland, wrote to Aagon Tingba at the Ministry of Education on June 16, 2016, recommending a change in the work being done at the facility. That letter recommended removing certain aspects of the roof’s frame in order to accommodate for the Onduline roof.

The letter was dated after the contractor began work on the school, according to both Thompson and Adam B. Yaba, the director of physical environment at the Ministry of Education. Thompson estimated that construction began during the first quarter of 2016.

Adam B. Yaba, director of physical environment at the Ministry of Education. Photo: Zeze Ballah

Regardless, Yaba said the concern of the ministry is to see the building roofed. He noted that the main delay was caused by the shift in materials to be used.

Meanwhile, Sen. Brown said he would do all he could to get the school in proper form, adding that he had already scheduled a meeting with the minister of education, George Werner, to discuss the issue.

“It is unfortunate and we are very much concerned about the renovation,” he said. “All options on the table are open to getting the school to its pre-war status.”

Meanwhile, back at the school’s temporary facility, students continue to sit in stench-filled classrooms for lectures. Every morning, they are made to clean up their classrooms before the school day begins.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah