Construction work to retrofit the Government Industrial School (GIS) at Dodds, St Philip to make provision for the transfer of females from Barrows, St Lucy will be completed by September 9. The work will include the fitting of security cameras at the facility.During a tour of the $1.4 million renovation project on Tuesday, Minister of Home Affairs and Information Wilfred Abrahams said he was pleased with the progress of the project.He reiterated that once the girls are moved from Barrows to the retrofitted facility which they will share with the boys, they are expected to benefit from better accommodations and have access to programmes that are more suited to their needs.“This is a fantastic facility. Out here feels different to St Lucy. The buildings look different, the resources we will put in place are different; the opportunities we will present are different.“We want to have a fresh start on the 9th of September; fresh start, fresh curriculum, fresh outlook, fresh programmes,
‘Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams has sought to clear the air regarding the alleged attempted suicide of a female ward of the Government Industrial School (GIS) last Saturday.He said on Tuesday that while one of the five wards at the Barrows, St Lucy facility claimed she had ingested toothpaste, when she was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) for medical attention her toxicology report came back negative.Abrahams, who addressed the matter during a tour of the renovation project at GIS Dodds, St Philip, on Tuesday morning, said the ward later admitted to authorities that she did not “ingest anything”.“People are putting things out there that have no basis in truth, no connection in truth, and then people are running, jumping on bandwagons trying to protect persons who may at that time not be in need of protecting,” the Home Affairs Minister said.