Promises, Promises but Still No School

Some learners have given up hope that their promised new school will ever be built.

• No work has taken place on the R43-million construction of a new school in Willowvale, Eastern Cape, since late 2021.
• The contractor left the site because of late payment by the Eastern Cape Department of Education.
• The department said then that a new contractor would be appointed by January 2022.
• But nothing has happened and learners are still being taught in the old school buildings, which were put up in the 1960s by parents and are in very poor condition.

A R43-million contract to build a new high school in Willowvale, Eastern Cape, has been stalled for more than four years. The contractor walked off the site in 2021, because the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) had failed to pay. Since then, nothing has happened in spite of the department’s promises.

In 2018, Highpana Projects was awarded the contract to build Mpozolo High School. Some work was done, but when the ECDoE failed to pay, Highpana stopped work. Eastern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima confirmed in November 2021 that Highpana had terminated its contract due to late payment by the department. At the time, he said a new contractor would be on site by January 2022.

But more than three years later, nothing has happened. Three buildings have roofs but no windows or doors. Another building, with three classrooms, has only walls. Two other buildings only have foundations.

Meanwhile learners are being taught in very old buildings which are in poor condition.

Buildings have been left unfinished since 2021.

Mtima told GroundUp the project has been re-advertised, and a new contractor is to be appointed. He did not answer questions about how much had already been spent or about the reasons for the delay.

“The project started well and we were pleased, but it stalled,” said Nobubele Hadi, chairperson of the School Governing Body. “It’s frustrating, the department gives us no clear answers. First, they said Highpana would return, but eventually, their materials were removed and nothing happened,” she said.

The original Mpozolo school was built by parents in the 1960s, with each household contributing as little as R5 for building materials, and skilled people volunteering their labour.

The parents constructed seven classroom blocks which are now in very poor condition, with leaking roofs, broken windows and doors, and holes in the floors.

The Department provided two temporary classroom blocks, each containing two classrooms, but these are now old, with broken floors and walls and missing doors. There are large holes in some walls.

Some toilets lack seats and doors, and some have been blown down.

oilets lack seats and doors.

“Now, our school is in terrible condition,” said Hadi. “We try to maintain it by painting and fixing the doors by covering some with zinc, but the conditions keep getting worse. Floors are so bad we fear someone will get seriously injured.”

Grade 9 student Imange Khwatshube said most classrooms are overcrowded and unsanitary. He said floors are damp, there is no electricity, “and when it rains, we have to move desks to avoid leaks”.

“It’s disheartening and we suspect there’s no money left to finish the school,” he said.

Another student, Thayanda Mzilikazi, now in Grade 10, said the contractor had already left by the time he started in 2021.

He said he had hoped to study in new classrooms but is now losing hope. “I’m nearly done with high school, and nothing has changed. Honestly, we’ve lost faith this building will ever be finished. Future students will likely find the school in the same state,” he said.

The original buildings were put up by parents in the 1960s.

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