Note to Editors: Please find a soundbite in English by DA MPL, Michael Waters here.
The financial crisis engulfing the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) continues to deepen, placing learners’ education at risk. Currently, 138 schools, many of which are facing budget cuts of up to 64%, owe the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality a total of R81,970,214.19 in unpaid municipal accounts for water and electricity.
This was revealed by the MEC for Gauteng Education, Matome Chiloane, in a reply to a question posed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).
The reply confirms that these are Section 21 schools, which means they are responsible for paying their own municipal services, including electricity and water. However, they have been unable to do so, prompting the municipality to threaten service cuts.
See reply here.
The DA has consistently warned against the burden placed on schools by forcing them to carry costs that the department should manage. These warnings have largely been ignored, with the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) instead placing unnecessary pressure on schools to cover basic operational costs.
The consequences for learners could be severe. If schools are disconnected from electricity or water due to unpaid municipal accounts, teaching and learning will come to a halt. Any responsible government would recognise that schools require reliable access to electricity, water, and sanitation services to operate effectively.
This situation further exposes the widening gap between the funding allocated to schools and the real cost of running them, particularly in the face of rising municipal tariffs. The DA urges GDE MEC Matome Chiloane to urgently address this crisis before learners pay the price for financial mismanagement and chronic underfunding.
Only the DA can resolve the financial crisis within the Gauteng education system and ensure that service providers are paid on time, thereby avoiding disruptions that undermine teaching and learning in our province.