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It has become quite clear that the government has given up on education and the future of South Africans, said the leader of the One SA Movement, Mmusi Maimane, on his visit to the site.
- The Gauteng Infrastructure Development Department has denied claims that an unoccupied primary school in Tembisa, which cost R82 million, was built on a wetland.
- It says it is in the process of acquiring funds to fix the faults and redirect the wastewater.
- Meanwhile, Movement One SA leader Mmusi Maimane says he will press criminal charges against the contractor.
The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) has denied claims that the state-of-the-art Mayibuye elementary school in Tembisa was built on a wetland.
According to department spokesman Bongiwe Gambu, engineers had conducted a wetland test after a team working at the school discovered that water was leaking into the facility.
Gambu said the tests resulted in the digging of several trenches in the schoolyard, and it was discovered that there was an “old sewer line that had been leaking for years.”
The Ekurhuleni school, which was supposed to reopen three years ago, was reportedly built at a cost of R82 million and remains unoccupied.
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The Department of Basic Education directed News24’s inquiries regarding infrastructure to DID.
Gambu said the city of Johannesburg did not have any records of a sewer line and that a report had been submitted, adding that if it had been known, the department would have been informed before the structure was built.
82 million rand in a school. This is why #DirectElections are important. So we know who to hold accountable and who is in charge of specific projects. Investigate those who let this happen, those who allowed a school to be built in a wetland. pic.twitter.com/6PkXr1ZbyD
– ???? One South Africa Movement (@OneSA_Movement) September 11, 2020
He added that an environmental assessment was also conducted before the school was built on the site.
Gambu said another major problem at the school was that people had illegally built houses where the access road to the school was supposed to be built.
This meant that the department needed to identify another entry.
“Unfortunately, this happened during construction, when we had prepared the land for construction, then people started building and we call that invasion,” he said.
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According to a TimesLive report, the chairman of the Gauteng legislature’s portfolio committee, Mpho Modise, said those responsible for the project must be held accountable. The committee visited the school for an inspection on Tuesday.
Gambu told News24 that the Treasury had already advised his department, as well as his client, the Gauteng Basic Education Department (GDE), on how the funds could be accessed for the project’s completion.
The GDE is also in the process of finalizing the acquisition of the funds so that a DID contractor can return to the site, the spokesperson added.
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“We sent a structural engineer to the site [who] they evaluated the structure and installation and found the installation to be structurally sound, which means that we only have to address defects that need to be addressed as soon as the contractor resumes construction, “Gambu told News24.
He said the sewer pipe must be rerouted because it cannot be completely closed and the facility will only be ready for occupancy once all work is completed.
An SA Movement leader, Mmusi Maimane, also visited the school on Friday and described it as “the Nkandla of the department [of education]”.
Maimane said the school had been “built on a wetland.”
He added that those who approved the construction of the school at the site, as well as the contractor, should be investigated.
“I think Angie Motshekga should resign here because it is 82 million rand that is wasted here by the people of South Africa.”
Maimane said he would bring criminal charges against the contractor who won the tender to build the school.
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