Incomplete school construction projects flagged by Gauteng MPL

An allegedly abandoned construction project to build Nancefield Primary School in Eldorado Park and incomplete work at a Roodepoort school are depriving pupils of access to conducive learning and teaching environments.

This is according to DA member of the Gauteng legislature Nkhumeni Ramulifho, who conducted an oversight visit on Tuesday to the Nancefield and Braamfischer primary schools. He discovered construction projects meant to be finished by now are incomplete. 

“Nancefield Primary pupils continue to be taught in old and dilapidated mobile classrooms as a contractor has abandoned the project of building their new brick-and-mortar school,” he said.

At Braamfischer, pupils and teachers are using brick-and-mortar classrooms but the school hall is in the foundation phase and the sporting facility is incomplete.

“According to the contractor, construction will only be completed in March next year.”

Ramulifho said some pupils from Nancefield have been moved out of the school where the construction is taking place and placed at another school’s grounds.

“This is unacceptable because of the safety and health risks involved, and these pupils and teachers have waited far too long to move to the newly built school premises.

“At the Nancefield Primary construction site, we found building material abandoned. There has been no communication that stipulates whether the contract has been terminated.”

He said he would table questions in the provincial legislature to the education and infrastructure development MECs.

“I first visited the school last year and they said they were back with construction. I was doing a follow-up visit and realised they had abandoned the site. I will submit written questions to the legislature on Thursday to find out what is going on.”

TimesLIVE sent enquiries to the Gauteng education department and the department of infrastructure development and is awaiting responses.

This is a developing story

TimesLIVE