The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) commitment to rescuing Gauteng learners from the devastating failures by the Gauteng Departments of Infrastructure Development (GDID) and Education’s (GDE) have succeeded. Through our sustained pressures we have finally forced these departments to appoint a new contractor to complete the rebuilding of the asbestos Nancefield Primary School to a brick-and-mortar structure.
The DA has conducted several oversight visits to the school, tabled several questions, delivered several member statements, and raised this issue in committee meetings at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL). We have also issued several press releases and have an online petition running to force GDE to complete the construction of Nancefield Primary School. See the petition we launched last April here: http://petitions.da.org.za/p/Complete-Nancefield-Primary-School-brick-and-mortar-structure-Now.
While we welcome the commitment to complete the reconstruction of Nancefield Secondary School, we remain deeply concerned about the prolonged delays that have left learners being taught in old, overcrowded and dilapidated mobile classrooms for several years.
Nancefield Primary School, located in Eldorado Park, was built in 1957 and was originally an asbestos school. In 2019, the GDE announced that the school would be demolished and rebuilt. However, the project was abandoned in 2021 due to non-performance by the contractor.
Earlier in the year, due to a payment dispute between Thovu Construction and the GDID, learners were at risk of having no facilities due to the company’s threat to remove the mobile classrooms. The service provider claimed there was an outstanding payment of R2 million. The delay in completing the school has resulted in vandalism on site and theft of building materials.
While we acknowledge the department’s efforts to appoint a new contractor and their commitment to complete the project, it is unacceptable that it may take until 2025 for the school to reopen.
The DA demands immediate action to ensure that the new contractor meets the project timeline and that all necessary funding is secured to prevent further disruptions. We also emphasise the urgent need to address the health and safety risks posed by the continued use of mobile classrooms and asbestos structures in other schools.
The DA will conduct an oversight inspection at the school as soon as the new contractor commences to assess the work being done and ascertain whether it will be completed within the stipulated timelines.