WCED Failing the Right to Education in St Helena Bay

GOOD Statement by Thyrone Williams, GOOD Saldanha Bay Municipality Chief Whip & Councillor:

As we mark Human Rights Day, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is failing the community of St Helena Bay by denying our children their fundamental Right to Education.

Despite admitting a serious need for a new high school on the West Coast, the Provincial Government has once again excluded the project from the 2026 Budget. This is a betrayal of the residents of Laingville and surrounding areas who have been fed “empty promises” for years.

The numbers tell a story of gross mismanagement:

• R13.8 Million: The staggering annual cost to transport 732 learners from St Helena Bay to Vredenburg.
• 16 Buses: Daily transit that clogs our roads and increases accident risks.
• Overcrowding: Vredenburg’s schools are already at breaking point.

The Saldanha Bay Municipality has already cleared the way by waiving over R3 million in development costs for the Laingville school site. Local government is ready, but the province continues to drag its feet, suggesting the school won’t even materialise in the 2027/28 budget.

In his State of the Province Address, Premier Alan Winde asked us all to jump in and do more. We are calling on the Premier to take his own advice.

The community’s patience is exhausted. We have tried to be decent, but if the WCED continues to ignore our children, protest action remains our last resort. Our people don’t want more planning processes they want a timeline and a school.

The time for excuses is over. Give St Helena Bay its high school now.

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