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The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has allegedly spent R1 million fixing the roof of the two blocks of classrooms at Nqubela Primary School in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni yet the roof is still leaking, the work is not up to standard and there is no value for the money spent.

The learners continue to suffer as the environment in which they are taught is not conducive for learning and teaching putting both the lives of learners and teachers at risk.

The contractors have been paid and the inspectors have approved their work despite the shoddy workmanship.

Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) conducted an oversight inspection at the school and were disappointed with the state of the school’s infrastructure and the roof of the two blocks of classrooms that the department allegedly spent R1 million fixing.

This school is old and was established in 1966; the infrastructure is ageing and is in dire need of proper regular maintenance.

The classroom walls are cracking, and the bricks are loose. The floors have cracks, the roof is leaking, and the ceiling is damaged. The roof gutters are loose and broken. The structure is no longer safe for learning and teaching.

The school furniture is old, and the department has not yet provided enough new desks and chairs. The school does not have sporting facilities and they are currently using community facilities for sporting activities.

In addition, the school has had numerous burglaries targeting the school’s kitchen and the storeroom. The school has opened many cases at the Daveyton Police Station and none of those cases has resulted in arrests and prosecutions as all the cases have been dismissed due to lack of evidence. The security and safety of the school are under threat, and it is the responsibility of the department to implement safety measures at the school.

The DA will be engaging the Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi to prioritise fixing this school’s infrastructure and appointing the inspectors to conduct a proper inspection of the infrastructure. We will be tabling written questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to determine the actual scope of the work that was done in the two blocks of classrooms that allegedly cost the department R1 million; what exactly was done by the service provider; how was the service provider was appointed and who approved the work done by the service provider.

The DA challenges MEC Lesufi to personally conduct an oversight inspection at this school to assess the state of the infrastructure and the work that has been done so far in fixing two blocks of classrooms to ascertain whether or not is there is value for the alleged R1 million spent.

We will continue to exert pressure on MEC Lesufi to fix our school’s infrastructure to ensure a conducive learning environment for our children. We will also monitor to ensure that there is value for the taxpayers’ monies spent on school infrastructure projects.

Issued by DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho MPL