Premier Panyaza Lesufi said sorry to the Mayibuye community in Tembisa on Wednesday for making them wait so long for Mayibuye Primary School to be finished. He said there were some unexpected problems.
The school was supposed to be finished in 2017, but there were many issues. They had problems with the land rights, arguments over contracts, and the construction took longer than expected. There were also rumours that the school was built in a wetland, but that wasn’t true. It was actually a problem with the sewerage, which they’ve fixed now.
They spent R60 million on the school, which can hold 1200 students from Grade R to Grade 7. It has 28 fancy classrooms, 2 cool science labs, a computer room, a place for little kids, a library, and an office block.
Premier Lesufi promised that they won’t let delays like this happen again. He said they need to hold the people responsible for building our children’s future accountable.
“We can’t have what happened with this school happening with others in Gauteng. We need to make sure any builder we hire for our children’s schools knows they have to do their job properly. We can’t let them waste public money,” said Premier Lesufi.
He also said the government is committed to finishing projects on time. Phase 2 of the school, including a Nutrition Centre, a dining hall, a soccer field, and courts for netball, basketball, and tennis, will start on 27 April 2024.
“We’re giving over this beautiful school today to the people of Mayibuye, who’ve been waiting patiently. We’re going to finish all these unfinished projects,” he said.
MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, said they’re working hard to make sure township schools have good facilities like the fancy schools in the suburbs.
Chiloane praised the school and asked the community to take care of it for the next generation.
“This school shows how bright your future will be. Please look after it. We’re nurturing future leaders here,” said Chiloane.
Mandlenkosi Baleni, the Chairperson of the SGB, thanked the teachers for their hard work and the government for keeping their promise.
“We’re happy as parents that the school is finally open. We had lots of problems before, but now we have water tanks and a generator for when there’s no water or power,” said Baleni.
