Kingsway Library in Benoni, Ekurhuleni is standing empty gathering dust despite the fact that it was completed a year ago.
The Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR) is dragging its heels in the handover of the library to the City of Ekurhuleni. The Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality cannot occupy the library without a Certificate of Occupation from SACR.
This unnecessary delay has had a negative impact on children and residents who are desperately in need of this library to access information. Kingsway residents currently commute to either Benoni library which costs R24 per trip, or Daveyton library which costs R28 per trip.
It is also alleged that the security company that is guarding the library has not been paid up for four months by the contractor. If these security guards decide to down tools this library will be at risk of being vandalized.
We will table questions to the MEC of SACR, Faith Mazibuko in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to ascertain the following:
- When was the budget approved for the building of the Kingsway library?
- What was the budget and time frame of the project?
- When did the project start?
- Has the project been completed?
- If the answer to above (iv) is yes, when will SARC handover the certificate of occupation to the City of Ekurhuleni? And if the answer is no, when will the project be completed?
- How long has the library been standing empty?
- Who are the contractors?
- Were the contractors paid by the department and if not why not?
The DA believes that libraries are valuable community assets that ensure that the constitutional right to the access of information is upheld.