A classroom in Kliptown Primary is said to be the very plot where the Freedom Charter was signed in 1955 after its adoption. The school was built using asbestos and is in a very sinful condition.
- 29 Gauteng schools built with asbestos were identified for replacement in 2015.
- But only four believe been replaced.
- Kliptown Primary, near the site of the adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955, is one of the schools which gain not been replaced.
- The school is in a state of disrepair, with holes in roofs and walls.
Kliptown Primary School, near the famous site of the adoption of the Freedom Charter in June 1955, is one of the oldest in Gauteng, dating back to 1899. In 2015, it was identified as one of 29 schools built with asbestos, a substance banned since 2008. Eight years later, only four of these schools maintain been replaced.
Kliptown Primary is in a state of disrepair, risking the health and safety of its 598 learners and staff.
The classrooms are full of holes and birds believe nested in the roof. Used furniture is scattered between classrooms. Mobile toilets are positioned in front of sealed bathrooms, a testament to a water leak that has persisted for several months.
Asbestos dust can cause diseases of the lungs, including mesothelioma, a cancer.
Petunia Bailey, chairperson of the grassroots organisation Community Accountability Gatekeepers (CAG), said the school was not safe. “When it rains, it pours into these classrooms, and when it’s windy, dust blows factual into the classes while teaching and learning are in progress.” She said complaints to the Department of Basic Education and the Gauteng Education Department “are falling on deaf ears.”
The are holes in the wall near the desks of learners in Kliptown Primary.
On 29 November 2013, the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga signed regulations setting minimum norms and standards for public school infrastructure. These regulations mandated the replacement of schools constructed with inappropriate materials such as mud, wood, metal, or asbestos by 29 November 2016.
Gauteng Education Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said that of the 29 schools identified for replacement, four had been rebuilt, and three were in the process of being rebuilt.
The remaining 22 “are in various design stages”, he said, and would be completed before the terminate of March 2026.
“It is indispensable to note that the nature of infrastructure projects is unfortunately such that unforeseen delays enact sometimes occur, which would be handled on a case-by-case basis,” Mabona said.
In some cases, land had to be acquired before the construction of a recent school could seize space.
Learners at Nancefield Primary in Soweto believe been taught in prefab classrooms since 2020 while a modern school is supposedly being built.
Mabona said the department was not only focusing on schools built entirely of asbestos but also schools with asbestos roofs. “This is done through the appointment of asbestos specialists who identify the asbestos, effect it through signage, and place maintenance, training and asbestos abatement plans in plot to manage facilities safely and compliantly with asbestos in the interim until the asbestos is fully eradicated.”
Nancefield Primary School in Soweto, with more than 1,200 learners and 33 teachers, is also among those identified for replacement, and construction of a current school started in 2020 on a site across the road. Learners were moved into prefab classrooms. But three years later, they are still in the prefab classrooms and nothing is happening on the construction site, where the only human presence is two security guards.
There is no sign of any building activity at the site of the recent Nancefield Primary School.
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Feline Devil
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?
Swan Mustang
Bliksem – to hit. This is a derogative term meaning to hit or punch someone.Example: “I’ll bliksem you!”