R198-Million School for the Blind Incomplete and Left to Ruin

Part of a wall at Rivoni School for the Blind’s new campus that has collapsed. The school was originally meant to be completed by June 2024.

• In October, we reported that the project to build a state-of-the-art campus for the Rivoni School for the Blind had stalled. The Independent Development Trust insisted at the time that it would be complete by 10 December.
• But no progress has been made on the R198-million project. The site is showing visible signs of decay, with walls collapsing due to flood damage, roofs leaking, and the foundation for an eye clinic left incomplete and rusting.
• While waiting for the project to be completed, the current school operates with flimsy, prefabricated classrooms and dormitories, and mobile toilets.

The construction of a new R198-million campus for the Rivoni School for the Blind in Limpopo, meant to serve 170 learners, has stalled once again.

Building materials have been stolen and walls are crumbling due to flood damage. Meanwhile, the school operates in flimsy prefabricated classrooms and dormitories.

The project in Njakanjaka village was launched after school learners protested for better conditions in 2019. It was supposed to be a state-of-the-art facility, complete with an eye clinic. It was meant to be ready by June 2024.

But the project has faced multiple delays. In October, we reported that the contractor, Clear Choice Builders, had been placed in business rescue before the project was completed. The company had been paid R157-million.

The Limpopo Department of Education, which is funding the project, and the Independent Development Trust (IDT), which is managing it, insisted at the time that the project would be completed by 10 December 2025. But that deadline was missed, and there has been no visible progress.

In response to questions, the IDT said the contract with Clear Choice Builders was terminated in November due to breach of contract and non-performance, with 86% of the work completed, excluding the eye clinic.

We visited the site in mid-March. Workers and security staff we spoke to said they have not been paid for more than a year. Heavy rains have caused a wall to collapse. Roofing sheets were leaking, wooden materials were decaying, and some structures against the steep embankment were under pressure from soil erosion.

Large parts of the site were waterlogged, with stagnant water around several buildings. The eye clinic’s foundation remains incomplete, with exposed steel reinforcement bars already rusting. Cement left on site has hardened after being exposed to rain. Weeds grow around the buildings.

Inside, the school remains incomplete, with empty corridors, unattended materials and visible water damage.

Roofs are damaged, walls are collapsing, and weeds grow around the buildings.

Meanwhile, the school continues to operate in prefabricated buildings. Many of the learners from grade R to 12 stay in dormitories with holes in the floors. They only have mobile toilets.

“The situation is worrying,” said Joshua Chavalala, a local resident and a member of the project steering community. “Electricity cables have already been stolen, and doors could be next … The Department of Education and the IDT are not taking the children’s situation seriously.”

He said he hopes the project will be completed before winter, as the mobile classrooms are too cold for learners.

The director of the security company, who asked not to be named, said the contractor owes her more than R500,000, leaving her unable to pay workers.

“The workers still want their money from me. I tried to pay them using my own money, but after many months, I could not continue because I was also not paid,” she said.

The IDT said it is in the process of procuring a replacement contractor.

“The remaining work includes completing the eye clinic, remedial works necessitated by weather exposure, external works, and other finishes,” the IDT said in response to questions.

The cost of repairs due to weather damage will be determined during the new tender process, the IDT said. It had not received any reports of vandalism or cable theft.

“A revised completion date will only be determined once a new contractor is appointed,” said Limpopo Department of Education spokesperson Mike Maringa.

Published with Limpopo Mirror

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