The dilapidated infrastructure at Lotus Gardens Secondary School in Tshwane is yet to be fixed after almost three years since parents complained about the unsafe conditions under which learners and teachers were operating.
Among the concerns raised at the time were collapsed ceilings, leaking roofs, no doors, non-functional toilets and a single water tap. One of the classrooms was said to have collapsed some years ago.
While the school was provided with mobile classrooms it has emerged that work promised by government to repair the infrastructure was yet to be concluded due a delayed project started in 2022 by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development.
According to MEC Jacob Mamabolo, construction at the school is estimated to be completed within 16 months.
He was responding to written parliamentary questions posed recently by DA MPL at the Gauteng legislature, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, who enquired about the timeline for the school’s rehabilitation project.
Rasilingwane also wanted to know about the envisaged deadline for completing the procurement process for the project taking place at the school.
Mamabolo said it should take the department “not more than four months to deal with matters of procurement and supply chain because remember the department has a panel of contractors, so that should minimise the amount of time required to conclude that”.
Rasilingwane expressed her disappointment that learners were being taught in dilapidated classrooms with leaking roofs, damaged ceilings and non-functioning toilets.
This, she said, was due to the delays by the department for the project that began in 2022 and was meant to have been completed by now.
She said Mamabolo promised to keep tabs on the progress during the construction expected to be completed within 16 months.
“While the DA notes the reported timeline and the commitment to monitor this project, we cannot ignore that the Department of Infrastructure Development has failed to complete projects on time and within budget. Learners are at the losing end of the stick as they have to endure being taught in an environment that is not conducive and severely impacts the delivery of quality education,” she said.
She said the school project in Tshwane was one of many lagging behind in the province under the watch of the department.
“The DA is committed to ensuring that Lotus Gardens Secondary School’s rehabilitation will not follow the same old pattern. We will monitor the progress closely to ensure proper management and oversight are applied to meet the deadline,” Rasilingwane said.
Pretoria News