Up to 180 contractors were employed for the construction of the CedarBridge Academy, the United Bermuda Party reported yesterday. Responding to comments by Premier Alex Scott that the former UBP Government gave major contracts to a select few, Shadow Works Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin told that many small contractors got a piece of the action when CedarBridge was built.

?The Premier has indicated that the method used by the UBP for major construction was not exactly the way they would do it because they would open it up to more participation,? she said.

?In truth, and in reality, there were 180 contractors who worked on CedarBridge under the umbrella of a construction manager, so if the Premier is suggesting that he would do it very differently then by his standards some of the people who wouldn?t get the opportunity are Smith and Sargent, Stevenson Construction, Butterfield Excavating, Island Floor refurbishing, Triple R painting, Island Construction, Pembroke Steel Erectors and the list goes on and on.

?There are some 180 ? many of them small contractors, many for services and goods, like Piano Plus and Opus.?

She added: ?He needs to gather his facts before he starts to discount some of the smaller players who had the opportunity under the United Bermuda Party Government.?

Mr. Scott admitted last week that Government?s plans to finish the new secondary school at Berkeley ?mirrored? that used to build CedarBridge Academy, but that the UBP kept jobs for a select few and the PLP was opening up the field. ?Something had to be right under the UBP,? said Ms Gordon-Pamplin who noted that Government was even choosing the same company to act as construction manager.

?There?s so much stupid politicking that it?s becoming irritating. There?s no need for the Premier to reinvent the wheel, the programme worked, we proved that it worked and we are happy for him to imitate it because that?s the greatest form of flattery.?