Construction of school in Birch Acres stalls due to financial constraints
Construction work on the school was supposed to start almost a year ago.
The commencement of the building of Birch Acres Extension Primary school has been postponed due to a “constrained fiscal environment”, according to a Parliamentary reply received by Michael Waters MP and DA deputy chief whip and Lethabong constituency head.
“The construction of the school, which is to be situated on Erf 5015 in Birch Acres Extension 32, was expected to commence in October last year and was expected to be completed by January 2019,” said Waters in a statement released on Tuesday.
“Due to the dire economic situation the country finds itself in, the consequences of years of corruption and maladministration have finally taken their toll on the finances of the country.”
According to the reply, the delay has been as a result of Gauteng Province facing a constrained fiscal environment, which made it essential for the Gauteng Education Provincial Schools Build Programme to employ strategies for ensuring the maximum utility of all financial resources related to the provision of education infrastructure.
The school is one of ten Alternative Construction Technologies (ACT) schools that need additional funding to be provided prior to the commencement of the building on site, Waters said.
The original budget allocated for the construction of the 1 200-learner school was R69 364 000. However, it now seems obvious that this budget is to be adjusted.
“The reply further revealed that the budget approval process was finalised in November 2017 and that the Gauteng Department of Education is currently awaiting permits from the Department of Labour for contractors to resume work at all ten schools. The school will be built on a vacant stand that is currently zoned appropriately for education purposes, and is in line with the requirements of sites as mandated by the norms and standards.
“It is disappointing that there is a delay in the building of the school as the mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mzwandile Masina, has promised the residents of Birch Acres Extension a primary school as all other existing primary schools are overcrowded,” Waters added.
“When I presented a petition to Parliament regarding the overcrowding of schools in the Kempton Park, Tembisa and Edenvale areas, the MEC of Education, Panyaza Lesufi, said that whenever housing developments take place, there will be proper planning to ensure school sites are identified.
“In the case of Birch Acres Extension, no such planning was done, resulting in no new schools being built in the area despite the population drastically increasing.”
