The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) urged the Gauteng Department of Education to establish a dedicated school infrastructure task team to streamline the construction of new schools and catch up on backlogged maintenance.
The task team should consist of representatives from, among others, the Gauteng Department of Education, the Department of Infrastructure Development and the relevant local authorities, having the powers to simplify and expedite the coordination of construction projects and maintenance.
Such a task team of expert decision-makers would be far better equipped to address the massive shortage of schools and the backlog in maintenance of existing schools.
The Freedom Front Plus made this proposal during the debate on the Gauteng Department of Education’s 2024/25 annual report.
The party also emphasised that, while the Department’s achievements such as the learner feeding programme and learner transport programme appear impressive, they actually conceal major problems.
The reality is that the Department not only has a huge infrastructure backlog, but the Auditor-General (AG) also reported irregular expenditure of R1,5 billion for the financial year.
According to the AG, the possibility of another R1,5 billion in irregular expenditure exists and is currently under consideration.
This means the Department may have incurred a scandalous R3 billion in irregular expenditure.
The Department also boasted that 1 403 schools currently have a no-fee status. The flip side, however, is that this confirms the economy is not growing, with more and more people becoming dependent on the state. It is simply not sustainable.
The problems faced by the Department are complex and multidimensional, but they can be solved.
If the economy grows and there is sustainable job creation, the middle class will also expand, consequently, more schools will fall into the quintile 4 and 5 categories. This will help alleviate the immense financial pressure on the Department. The provincial government should, therefore, strive to create the ideal conditions for attracting local and foreign investment.
In addition, the Department needs to do better planning, and modulate the influx of learners and their families through using powerful software. It appears, however, that the Department is following a reactive rather than a future-oriented approach.
The Department will also have to drastically improve its financial management, especially when it comes to expenditure.
The first step towards creating a solution framework is establishing an expert school infrastructure task team.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
