Tshwane school utility debt crisis deepens

The utility debt crisis crippling Gauteng schools, including more than 100 schools in Tshwane, has taken a disturbing turn with more than R58-million in unpaid municipal bills resulting in widespread electricity and water disconnections.

As the DA intensifies pressure on the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), DA MPL Sergio Isa Dos Santos has condemned the department’s handling of the crisis as ‘neglectful, evasive, and damaging to learners’ constitutional right to basic education‘.

In a recent statement, Dos Santos, who has been vocal in highlighting the severity of the situation in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, confirmed that over 100 schools across Tshwane’s southern, western, and northern districts are without essential services, due to unpaid utility bills.

“These are not isolated incidents,” said Dos Santos. “Schools in Hammanskraal, Winterveldt, Mabopane, Ga-Rankuwa, Temba, Bronkhorstspruit, Erasmus, Ekangala, Cullinan, Lotus Gardens, Olievenhoutbosch, and Laudium are suffering under the weight of a department that refuses to take accountability. The largest outstanding amount at a single school is R177 637, with the median debt hovering around R45 000. That is more than a budget line item, it is a direct threat to the safety, dignity, and future of our learners.”

Dos Santos emphasised that both primary and secondary schools have been impacted, many of which serve underprivileged communities already burdened by inadequate infrastructure.

“The GDE’s insistence that no-fee schools carry the burden of utility payments is not only short-sighted, it is unjust,” he added.

The disconnections have made classrooms dark and unusable, cut off access to water and sanitation, and left educators struggling to teach without the most basic resources.

“We are hearing from teachers and principals daily who are desperate. Learners are sitting in cold classrooms without lights, computer labs are idle, and sanitation conditions are deteriorating rapidly. This is no longer a financial issue. It is a humanitarian one.”

In response to written DA questions in the Legislature, Education MEC Matome Chiloane confirmed that 536 schools in Gauteng had their services disconnected since January 2024, an increase from the 525 previously reported.

Yet, according to Dos Santos, the MEC failed to provide meaningful responses to follow-up questions regarding disconnection durations, services affected, or what support — if any — was provided to schools.

“This evasive approach is unacceptable,” said Dos Santos. “We cannot allow vague annexures and non-answers to obscure the reality: the department is failing, and learners are paying the price.”

The DA has called for the immediate reversal of the policy that forces no-fee schools to pay their own utility bills, and said the party will demand the establishment of a task team within the MEC’s office to address billing issues, coordinate with municipalities, and prevent further disconnections.

“If the DA were in government in Gauteng,” Dos Santos stated, “we would ensure that no school goes without water, power, or sanitation. A functional intergovernmental task team would resolve disputes before they become crises, and contingency support like generators, water tankers, and mobile toilets would be dispatched immediately. For long-term resilience, we would invest in solar energy and boreholes.”

He concluded with a call to action: “We will not stop fighting until every learner has access to a safe, dignified, and uninterrupted learning environment. The GDE cannot continue to hide behind bureaucracy while our children sit in darkness.”

The GDE was asked for comment, but none had been received by time of publication.

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