Note to Editors: Please find soundbite for Kingsol Chabalala MPL.
The Johannesburg City Library remains closed despite a refurbishment project that began on 24 May 2021 and cost the City of Johannesburg over R21 million. This closure is due to structural issues, including non-compliant fire safety systems, electrical faults, and leakages.
Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) accompanied by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF) conducted an oversight inspection at the library and were disappointed to discover that the refurbishment had not been completed four years later.
The library is old and dilapidated, with severe structural damage. The roof is leaking and has damaged many books, and the floor and ventilation need to be fixed.
See the photos here, here, here and here.
This significant heritage building has been neglected, leading to its alarming deterioration.
In response to the DA written questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, MEC of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Mzi Khumalo stated that the City of Johannesburg has spent R21,412,489.10 since the refurbishment project started on 24 May 2021. The MEC also revealed that the entire scope of the work is estimated at R45,456,373.73, excluding VAT.
There is nothing much to show for the money that has been spent so far; we could only see that they have replaced the gutters, fire sensors, and fire sprinklers, among others.
We were informed that the project would cost close to R80 million, which is way above the initial estimate reported by MEC Khumalo.
In addition, the DA was informed that the library would only be partially opened after six months because the building cannot be fully opened until it is compliant with fire safety regulations.
This continued closure of the metro’s main public library is concerning considering the data from the Department of Higher Education and Training, which showed that in 2022, Gauteng had an illiteracy rate of 4.4%. Gauteng’s share of illiterate adults in the country was 12.4%, representing 490,197 individuals, the fourth highest number among provinces but proportionally low given Gauteng’s large population. Such facilities play an important role in reducing illiteracy and providing residents with access to information that can enable them to study and upskill themselves so they become actively engaged in the economy.
The DA will continue to exert pressure on the MEC for COGTA to ensure that the library management sticks to the time frame it has committed to for the partial reopening of the library. We will ask for a detailed report on all the expenditures to ascertain whether the work done or projected to be done warrants the ballooning amount of almost R80 million.
We cannot allow the individuals who rely on this library for academic purposes to be let down by a government that fails to understand the importance of quality service delivery and the consequences of its absence.