This is according to information provided by Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, in a response to a question posed by Member of Parliament (MP) for the Democratic Alliance (DA), Baxolile Babongile Nodada, on Parliament’s Monitoring Group (PMG) website. 

Presently, there are over 5 200 school construction projects that are yet to be completed countrywide, albeit at varying levels of progress. Whilst central South Africa constitutes a very small percentage of the projects yet to be completed, the problem areas are revealed to be KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga where the issue of incomplete school building projects runs in excess of over 3 800 schools at these three provinces. The Vogelfontein Primary School in Bethlehem forms part of the long list of incomplete schools in the country.

READ: Major construction on FS school halted

Last week, OFM News reported that construction on the Vogelfontein Primary School was halted by almost a year due to an ongoing dispute between the Free State Public Works and Infrastructure Department and the construction company appointed to carry out the crucial project. It’s said that there is no other school in Vogelfontein and children must travel quite a distance to attend school daily.

The contractor and the Gauteng-based principal agent that was appointed for the project allegedly clashed repeatedly over the technical aspects of the construction of the school. Despite numerous pleas from these parties for the departments of education and public works to intervene, it seems little has been done to quell rising tensions. 

The DA alleges that Education MEC, Tate Makgoe, confirmed in the Legislature that R60 million had been set aside by his department for this project. The owner of the construction company that was appointed for the project, Tshitshirisang Construction and Projects, has declined to comment on the matter in light of ongoing litigation.

READ: Public Works mum on Vogelfontein Primary School project allegations

Questions to the provincial Education Department were referred to the Public Works department. This department has not responded yet.

Free State DA Leader, Roy Jankielsohn, was amongst a delegation that conducted an inspection of the building site earlier this month. Jankielsohn said the delegation visited the school to investigate why this project came to a halt. OFM News has been reliably informed that the project began in 2019 and was meant to resume in June 2020, following the hard lockdown levels imposed on the country. But it appears, it never really got off the ground again due to the contentious relationship between all the parties involved.

OFM News