24 Jul 19: The Auditor General’s Department has found that contracts totaling $1.3 billion were issued for construction, repairs and maintenance of schools using direct and emergency procurement during the period of its review, 2013/14 to 2017/18. This was more than a third of the total sum of $3.5 billion dollars spent on such contracts. The Auditor-General reviewed 306 contracts for the review period. The Ministry of Education explained that direct contracting was the result of extreme urgency, brought about by unforeseen events,