Questions have been raised why the Hercules community library was closed after revelations that the Gauteng provincial government had made available R7.6 million for Tshwane libraries.
DA councillor Suzette Fourie said : “Only R700 000 of that budget has been used. What happened to the rest and why isn’t a portion of that money used to settle the bill? How is it possible that the library can be closed for this long when there are funds to service it?” she said.
According to a notice on the door of the library, which is within the Hoërskool Hercules campus, it was closed due to the non-payment of the electricity account by the department of education. The notice said members must “return and issue again [borrow] books at our neighboring libraries in Mountain View and Mayville”.
Library user Isabel Herbst said the closure of the library was a cause for concern. “One has to ask why the account was not paid. We are pensioners and borrowed books there every second week because it is so close. Now we are forced to travel further to Mountain View or Mayville. Even then we don’t always have transport to get there,” she said.
Herbst lamented the fact that the library was closed even when the school children were back at school. “What about all the children who regularly conduct research there? Can the metro please tell us when the library will be reopened because this is unacceptable,” Herbst added.
The library was more than just a place to keep books. Herbst said it had become a meeting point for elderly ladies. “We always met there to discuss interesting topics and share life stories. Now we cannot do that because the library has been closed and we don’t know what’s happening in each other’s lives,” said Herbst.
Tshwane metro had not responded to a Rekord media enquiry at the time of going to print.
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