23 July 2024
The Gauteng government says the contractor working on the site of the new Simunye Secondary school in Bekkersdal has missed two deadlines, in October last year and recently in June. Photos: Silver Sibiya
The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development has threatened to cut ties with a company contracted to build a state-of-the-art school for Simunye Secondary in Bekkersdal.
The R123-million construction started in 2022 to accommodate the school’s 1,200 learners. It is meant to be a fully equipped information and communication technology (ICT) school.
This was meant to end a nearly decade-long struggle of learners using overcrowded containers as classrooms. The school’s original building, established in 1995, is dilapidated and cannot be used.
According to the provincial government, the contractor had missed two deadlines: in October 2023 and in June 2024.
In February, the provincial legislature’s portfolio committee on Infrastructure Development and Property Management visited different development sites including the new school. At the time, the school was only about 50% complete.
“Regrettably, this pattern of delays extends to numerous other projects across the province, where communities are left deprived of essential services such as schools and healthcare facilities due to project mismanagement and contractor inefficiencies. These delays are often as a result of poor performance by contractors or department project managers with little to no consequence management taken against them,” read a statement by the committee.
The SGB’s deputy chairperson Mncedisi Radebe says these containers are not a conducive environment for learning, particularly during winter.
Months after this visit, workers are on site, but the school is still incomplete.
School Governing Body (SGB) deputy chairperson Mncedisi Radebe said that the conditions learners are expected to learn under are “deplorable”.
“We feel neglected by the government,” Radebe said. “The containers are very cold and the floor of the classes need to be fixed. We just have to raise money and buy cement to level it.”
The toilets, which are often blocked, are also not in good condition, he said.
Some classes have no access to electricity, Radebe added.
“They have given us so many deadlines to the point I no longer believe them anymore when they say the school will be complete by September,” he said.
Department spokesperson Victor Moreriane said the department has issued a notice of intention to terminate the contract.
“The contractor was supposed to complete the project in November 2023. They could not meet the deadline. We gave them the June 2024 deadline which they also missed,” he said.
“The department then issued a notice of intention to terminate, based on performance reasons. However, the contract remains in place and has not been terminated yet,” he added.
Efforts to get comments from the contractor were unsuccessful.