DA demands answers about vandalised school
Councillors of the Democratic Alliance are very concerned over the once-proud and pristine school in Brakpan that has been reduced to rack and ruin.
Councillors Veronica Dyson and Shelley Loe are spearheading an effort to get answers from the Department of Education on why the former Brakpan Primary School has been allowed to degenerate into a state of total disrepair.
During a recent visit to the abandoned school, in Livingstone Avenue, Dyson and Loe found thick overgrowth, broken buildings, vandalised facilities and a leaking pipe, which is gushing water.
“From what the DA understands from local residents, the school closed in 2011 for no apparent reason,” said Loe.
“The wastefulness of this decision is evident to anyone who walks around the building.
“Despite 24/7 security, the school has been stripped of assets, including toilets, basins and taps, as well as blackboards, windows, doors, paving bricks, manhole covers, metal steps and other materials of value.”
“The grounds of what was once a renowned eco-school are so overgrown with foliage and weeds that it is difficult to identify the former playgrounds, courtyards and parking areas.
“Even sadder is the state of the mini-town, where children used to play in little buildings depicting banks and shops.
“Roofs and ceilings are literally collapsing, as are floors throughout the classrooms and offices.”
Loe said the cost of restoring the school to anything near its former glory, let alone a workable educational facility, is adding up by the day.
“The DA will be demanding answers from the Gauteng MEC, particularly in light of the fact that many children in the Metro attend schools without proper classrooms, toilets or playgrounds,” she added.
“It is an indictment on government that not only has a viable school been closed down for no apparent reason, but that all overtures over the past few years, by businesses and private educational organisations to rent the building, have been ignored or rejected.
“Yet, government sees fit to pay security companies to `safeguard’ the property, at taxpayers’ expense.”
“The DA will not remain silent on government’s hypocrisy while conditions like those at Brakpan Primary School are left unaddressed.”
Related story: DA praises Brakpan SPCA
