By Luvuyo Mjekula
It has taken nearly 10 years, but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for hundreds of Alicedale learners who have been waiting for their crumbling school building to be reconstructed in a R50m government project.
In a widely welcomed development this week, the contractor, Amajuda Civils, arrived in Alicedale and undertook to finally start work on the project.
The learners also returned to school this week after local residents had sent them home and closed the school for a few days due to safety concerns brought about by lengthy delays in the implementation of the project.
Since 2015, learners of Hendrik Kanise Combined School in the small town, about 50km outside Makhanda, and their parents, have hung on to the hope that the school would be rebuilt so that the children could learn in a safe environment. A two-storey building on the school’s premises has been declared dangerous to the learners. The school houses 584 learners, from grade R to 12. The only other school in the town is George Jacques Primary.
Prolonged delays in the implementation of the multi-million rand project, apparently caused by complications between the Department of Education-appointed implementing agent, the Coega Development Corporation, and its chosen contractor, Amajuda Civils, have left the local community frustrated.
On Wednesday last week, the local residents acted on their frustration. They sent teachers and learners home and closed the school, citing learner safety concerns.
Two days later, the residents were out in the streets demonstrating and hoping to get answers from the department, Coega and Amajuda. However, the meeting failed to materialise.
Education department official, Mbuyiselo Mayase, who is a Circuit 1 inspector in the Sarah Baartman district, explained that Amajuda Civils had failed to make it to the meeting on time and it had to be rescheduled for Tuesday, 9 March.
Mayase also confirmed that the department, through its infrastructure directorate, had placed Hendrik Kanise on a priority list of schools to be built in the 2023/24 financial year. He said the department was also frustrated by the lack of progress. “We can see the school is very dangerous to the children,” he said.
He tried, in vain, on Friday, to persuade the residents to reconsider their decision to shut the school down. “Whatever frustration we have, it must not affect the learners’ right to education. Because you are killing the future of the children. Let us not fight such that there is a ripple effect on the children.”
School principal Monde Myona also expressed concern about the closure of the institution he said boasted a reputation for achieving good results. Myona said it is critical that each of the learners are in class.
School Governing Body (SGB) chairperson Mxoleli Mshweshwe said it was painful that they had to wait for so long for the school to be reconstructed.
The residents demanded that the least that could be done, in the meantime, was to barricade the “dangerous” building so that children would not have access to it.
Seemingly succumbing to the residents’ pressure, all three parties finally met with the residents this week.
Mayase, accompanied by a Majuda Civils’ team, a Coega delegation made of up of officials from health and safety; small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) and a social facilitator, arrived in Alicedale and had to explain themselves to a school hall packed with frustrated local residents.
After deliberations by all the parties, the meeting resolved that work on the project would begin the next day, on Wednesday, with the contractor visible at the site.
It was also agreed, unanimously, that the school would be reopened with teachers and learners returning to school on Wednesday. The contractor was tasked to urgently ensure that the children were safe when they returned to school.
The residents also heard that SMMEs would be brought on board for employment opportunities in the project, with all the necessary protocols and processes followed.
A community liaison officer and a project steering committee had been appointed and would work hand-in-hand with ward councillor Vuyani Nesi.
A representative of Coega pleaded with the residents to contact the project steering committee or the school principal for any project-related queries. The principal would pass their grievances to Coega and the corporation would avail itself within seven days, if required to travel to Alicedale, all this to ensure that the contractor does not deviate from the terms of the contract.
Nesi said: “Ultimately, the residents wanted to see the contractor on-site and that has been achieved.”
He thanked the residents for engaging the officials in a peaceful manner. “There was no violence or vandalism of property, everything happened smoothly.”
Community leader Khayalethu Nyamakazi said their aim was to exert pressure on the three parties for the benefit of the children. “We want to see the contractor coming here with materials and for people of Alicedale getting employment. We are very concerned about our children. We want them to come to school, but the school building can plunge at any time,” warned Nyamakazi.
