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DA to assess the state of infrastructure at Durban Deep Primary school and Braamfischer Primary School

Tomorrow, Thursday, 2 March 2023, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho MPL, will conduct oversight inspections at Durban Deep Primary School and Braamfischer Primary School in Roodepoort.

The purpose of the oversight inspections is to assess the state of the infrastructure at Durban Deep Primary School and the progress made in the construction of a brick-and-mortar at Braamfischer Primary School.

The DA has been reliably informed that the construction has resumed at Braamfischer Primary School. But unfortunately, the department has dragged its feet far too long in completing a brick-and-mortar school at Braamfischer Primary School, as the building project was incepted five years ago.

The DA will engage the management of both schools to ascertain possible solutions to the infrastructure challenges they are faced daily.

Members of the media are invited, and there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.

The details of the oversight inspections are as follows:

Date:2 March 2023

Oversight inspection one

Venue: Durban Deep Primary School, 12 Enoc Sontonga Street, Durban Deep, Roodepoort 1725.

Time: 10:00-10:45

Oversight inspection two

Venue: Braamfischer Primary School, Stand 2513 Phase 2, Jackie Ncube Dr, Roodepoort, 1725.

Time: 11:00-11:45

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The Gauteng Infrastructure Department is a ravenous leech on the taxpayer

 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is deeply concerned about the current status of infrastructure projects that have been managed by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) on behalf of the Gauteng Department of Health.   

Based on the presentation to the Health Portfolio committee by the Department of Health on the number of projects that have either not been completed, or not completed within time and budget, it was concluded that infrastructure development is beset by wastage and inefficiency. 

The difficulties experienced by the DID are well known and primarily stem from a lack of skills and expertise. This is not unique to Gauteng, as the same dynamic exists in the public sector at all levels of government. 

What is extremely disappointing is that the Health Department, which is the customer in this relationship, does not appear to have the skill or the motivation to hold the Department of Infrastructure to account for poor performance. One wonders if they would act differently if they were spending their personal money as opposed to public funds. 

Amongst the projects are those that were launched in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of these projects are still not complete and they may never see a Covid-19 patient. In response to criticism, the Health Department is now talking about repurposing these facilities to provide for non-Covid-19 medical services.

The Health Department has identified a number of issues that cause projects to fail, most of which fall under the control of the DID.

The fact of the matter is that the DID does not have a property management function that can resolve land ownership issues, does not adhere to legislated or regulated processes, plans poorly and project manages poorly.

If the DID was operating in the private sector, it would have been liquidated by now. In the public sector, however, poor performance is covered up, wastage and inefficiency are accepted as the norm and consequence management is non-existent. It is unfortunately the taxpayer who bears the brunt of this never-ending black whole of wastage.

 

 

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#GautengInCrisis: Covid Infrastructure projects stumble from crisis to crisis

It is extremely concerning to note that despite numerous promises by the Gauteng Provincial Government that our health infrastructure will be upgraded to cope with the expected high number of Covid-19 cases in the province, these critical infrastructure projects have still not been completed almost a year after the country went into lockdown.

What has been shown once again is that the Departments of Infrastructure and Health are dysfunctional and cannot be relied upon. While we are still waiting for the completion of projects to ensure an additional 1575 High Care/ICU beds, the Health Department has announced that the 300 beds that were to have been provided at the Kopanong hospital will be delayed because the project has been stopped due to poor contractor performance.

There is a lack of clear information as to when construction will be completed. It is crystal clear that there is additionally a scarcity of medical staff to man the new beds, thus making them unnecessary in the short to mid-term. In light of this, the Department of Health is to decide how many of the ICU beds, if and when they come online, must be repurposed as general beds and where the medical staff will be found.

The fact that our health infrastructure is not ready and able to cope with the high numbers of Covid patients is worrying, given that the initial lockdown was implemented so that government could ensure that the necessary infrastructure is put in place so that our hospitals can deal with the large number of patients that were expected.

Furthermore, the DA will be submitting questions to the MEC for Infrastructure Development, Tasneem Motara to ascertain what measures are being put in place to ensure that the companies who were awarded the tenders to complete these critical infrastructure projects do so within the stipulated timeframe. In addition, we the DA would also like to know what action will be taken against contractors where work has stopped due to poor contractor performance. In the meantime, we wait while puerile management is the order of the day and people die from Covid.

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Prasa failing to protect its infrastructure

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is concerned that the Prasa rail infrastructure in Gauteng is being pillaged and the company is not doing anything to protect its assets.

The damage has been so severe that Metrorail can no longer service the commuters of Gauteng and can only operate on one line, Pienaarspoort. Even this line had its services interrupted due to cable theft.

Prasa will maintain that that their services are limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the truth is that this is a veiled excuse. The company’s security, including the railway police, have failed to protect its infrastructure to the point that it can no longer operate its services in the province.

The latest example of this is the cable theft that happened on the line in Lyttleton in the early hours of Monday morning. The stolen cables, ready and cut for collection, were found by a local resident on Monday morning. He alerted Prasa who sent out an investigator.

See pictures here here  here  and here

What Prasa requires is a proactive strategy to protect its infrastructure or else its trains will never run in Gauteng again, leaving 5% of the province’s commuters stranded and placing undue pressure on other modes of public transport in the province.

I call on Prasa’s administrator to step in and arrest the rampant theft that will cost the company millions of rands, it does not have to repair the damage. Gauteng requires the services of this important public transport provider if it wants to restart its economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Gauteng Service Delivery Dealt A Blow By Slow Release Of Funds

Gauteng Provincial Government – National Treasury

Five major Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) departments have yet to receive their allotted budget for the second quarter of this financial year due to the slow transfer of funds from National Treasury.

The departments of Roads and Transport, Community Safety, Agriculture and Rural Development, E-Government and Infrastructure Development, which should by now have received 50% or more of their equitable share from National Treasury are all low in the 40% region.

Of notable concern is the department of E-Governance, which to date has only received 40.8% of its allocated funding. This department is the nerve centre of government business in Gauteng. If it fails to fulfil its mandate due to financial constraints, it will have dire consequences for the other GPG departments.

Premier David Makhura’s Transformation, Modernisation and Re-Industrialisation Plan

In an effort to restructure the economy of Gauteng, Premier David Makhura’s Transformation, Modernisation and Re-Industrialisation (TMR) plan hinges on departments like Infrastructure and Agriculture for its success. However, without funding, it will be impossible for these departments to make in-roads to address economic growth and job creation.

As the country’s most populace province, it is imperative that these funds are made available to departments as soon as possible so that residents of Gauteng receive the service they deserve.

It is at this stage unclear as to why these funds have yet to be made available.

Premier David Makhura must engage his counterparts in national government to speed up the payment process as he has done with the issues surrounding monies owed to the Gauteng Department of Health.

Province’s Financial Obligations

If the process is delayed due to departments failing to comply with legislation, swift action must be taken against accounting officers in departments.

The DA will continue to ensure that the province’s financial obligations are met and that service delivery is not hampered.

 

 

Media Enquiries:

Adriana Randall MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC on Finance

060 556 4342

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MEC Lesufi, Where Is The R90 Million For Noordgesig Primary School?

Noordgesig Primary School

Construction at Noordgesig Primary School in Soweto which was promised to commence in September 2016 has still not started.

Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, made this promise in the Provincial Legislature in March this year.

R90 million was set aside to fix the school which has remained desolate for over six years.

Millions of rands have been budgeted for the renovation of the school since the 2010/11 financial year.

In November 2014 a contractor was awarded a R17.8 million tender to fix the school.

Infrastructure Related Projects

The department tabled in its quarterly report last year, recognising the project was “completed” in August 2015, however not a single brick was delivered to the school.

Today, we are back at the very same place we started. I am extremely disappointed in the MEC for not keeping his promise.

The department allocated R2.6 billion for infrastructure related projects in the 2016/17 financial year, yet it seems Noordgesig Primary School is not a priority.

We are fast approaching the seventh year of “renovations” at this school.

Thousands of learners’ education has been disrupted due to the lack of urgency to have the school completely renovated.

A poor teaching and learning environment has become the norm at Noordgesig.

The DA has been monitoring the lack of progress for the renovations at the school.

School Falling Apart

I will write to MEC Lesufi, demanding an explanation for the delay in construction and I will table an urgent question for oral reply to the MEC in the Legislature for the 13th September sitting of the house.

I also urge him to communicate with the teachers, learners and parents to properly inform them as to when the renovations will start and be concluded.

It is completely unacceptable that learners continue to attend a school that is near to falling apart.

MEC Lesufi, it is high time that you pull up your sleeves and prioritise this project.

 

Media enquiries:

Khume Ramulifho MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education

082 398 7375

[Image source]

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Ekurhuleni Metro fails to repair crumbling Fairleads infrastructure

During the past year (2015) the residents of Fairleads in Benoni have been left neglected by the Ekurhuleni Metro.

The roads in Fairleads are sand-sealed and expire every five years. As a result, these roads cannot be repaired by way of re-tarring the roads, but have to be reconstructed.

However, the Ekurhuleni Metro choose to patch the roads with tar rather than completely reconstructing the road. There is also no storm-water system in this area and as a result the temporary tar-patching washes away every time it rains.

Due to a lack of proper and continuous maintenance by the Ekurhuleni Roads Department, many of the residents can no longer safely drive to and from their homes due to the large amount of potholes. Several residents have also incurred damage to their vehicles due to the potholes.

“Pretoria Road is a main arterial road and we use this road to get our children to school. However, due to the damage in the road we are constantly late,” says Fairleads resident Michael Holmes.

I have been reporting this issue to the Ekurhuleni Roads Department since July 2014 and was informed today that the department have funds available to fix these roads.

However, a date have not been set for when reconstruction can begin and the department assured me that they will maintain the roads until the dates have been finalised.

I will continue to monitor the progress made by the Roads Department and put pressure on the department to start reconstruction as soon as possible.

 

Media enquiries:

Stefanie Kruger

Councillor: Ward 24, Benoni

076 541 9717

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DA Debates 2014/15 Education Annual Report

Speech by: Khume Ramulifho MPL

“Gauteng education needs to rewrite its future”

  • There is 65% principals posts occupied by males since 2010, though there are more females teachers in the system. Does this means they can’t lead? If not why we aren’t seeing them leading our schools?
  • 75% of our schools need serious improvements – these range from leadership, management, infrastructure, discipline, community buy in, and innovative ideas.
  • The commitment to fight corruption is vague. Many reports were done but little action was taken against perpetrators – Glenvista, Brakpan high, Senoane high and many more schools are clear examples.
  • We need to build strong partnership with private sector so they can provide financial and other support.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by: Solly Msimanga MPL

“Quality education affords all a bright future”

  • Close to R37bn is spent on education in Gauteng out of our R95bn total budget for the 2015-2016 financial year. This means we spent more than a third of our budget on Education clearly demonstrating that money is not the reason for our dismal performance.
  • Some of the prominent challenges and obstacles facing ECD facilities include absence of learning materials and resources, especially within the classroom setting, minimal funding, lack of qualified and experienced teachers at this level, inadequate security for children whilst at the ECD facility, as well as poor toilet amenities.
  • I would call on the new HOD to investigate some of the providers responsible for school nutrition. The quality and quantity of the food provided in certain instances has really left much to be desired.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Media enquiries:

Khume Ramulifho, MPL

DA Gauteng Education Shadow MEC

082 398 7375

 

Solly Msimanga, MPL

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Education

060 558 8308

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Leratong Hospital: Gauteng Infrastructure Department Undermining Citizens

Portfolio Committee Oversight Visit

Service delivery at the Leratong Hospital in Mogale City is in decline as a result of overcrowding due to a lack of infrastructure.

This was revealed during a follow up Infrastructure portfolio committee oversight visit to the hospital.

Staff, who are afraid to speak out due to victimization by management, indicated that both the casualty and medical wards need to be doubled in size to meet demand and the standard of services required.

Overcrowding of Patients

No progress has been made to the upgrading of the dilapidated nurses home. In addition the hospital still has too few technical staff to preform maintenance and there are insufficient IT support resources to effectively implement the e-maintenance system

It was also revealed that the installation of lifts took two years to complete and that the project to install a new boiler had come to an abrupt standstill after being only 75% complete.

In addition, five mini theatres are standing idle.

The use of these facilities would contribute towards reducing the overcrowding as patients could have minor procedures performed there as opposed to being admitted to the wards.

Hospital staff indicated concern over the number of legal cases that arose from allegations of negligence during child birth, as well as the poor attitude of nursing staff towards patients.

Upgrading and Maintaining Critical Infrastructure

The private sector has stepped in to the void and offered to refurbish infrastructure that should have been refurbished by DID. The CEO of Leratong Hospital indicated that the private sector had carried out work to the tune of R15 million.

DID has once again failed residents of Gauteng by not upgrading and maintaining critical infrastructure placed in its care.

The DA will continue to provide robust oversight in order to ensure that our people receive the services they rightfully deserve.

 

Media enquiries:
Alan Fuchs MPL
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Infrastructure Development
060 558 8313

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DA Urges Gauteng Parents To Place Their Children In School

Parents to Find Placement

In a reply to DA questions regarding textbooks and LTSM readiness for 2016, the Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi, indicated that there are 25 000 learners waiting to be placed in schools across the province.

The DA urges the Department of Education in Gauteng to finalise learner placements ahead of the 2016 academic year. This will enable parents to buy uniforms, budget accordingly and ensure they have properly planned for the school year.

Parents who have not applied have an opportunity to do so before the end of November this year.

The DA appeals to all parents to use this window period to find placement for their children. This will ensure that teaching and learning will start on day one in 2016.

Quality Education

By finding place for their children, parents are contributing to strengthening monitoring and planning ahead of the academic year – as schools will be able to procure the necessary amounts of learning materials and resources.

The department must provide furniture, textbooks and employ more teachers before the commencement of the academic year. We must avoid situations where learners sit on buckets and paint cans due to lack of furniture.

Quality education will only be possible where a teaching and learning environment exists that is conducive to nurturing well-educated global citizens.

 

Media enquiries:

Khume Ramulifho MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education

082 398 7375

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