Lesufi labels SGBs ‘shameless’ for refusing to accommodate the homeless

The MEC for education in Gauteng Panyaza Lesufi took to Twitter on Wednesday to express his disappointment at school governing bodies (SGBs) that refused “to open up” their schools to accommodate homeless people during the national lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus.

Lesufi tweeted that the refusal by the SGBs resulted in the homeless people being housed in tents.

The MEC tweeted: “It’s a shame that we’ve to place fellow South Africans in tents while public assets like boarding schools are standing empty because self-centred SGBs are refusing to open up schools to accommodate our people. Is it because homeless people are half-human beings?”

In a separate tweet, Lesufi said the schools were being advised by the Federation of Associations of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas) “to resist accommodating the homeless in a state property”.

SowetanLive reports that an estimated 30 public schools in the province had refused to accommodate homeless people during the nationwide lockdown ending 16 April.

The publication reported that these schools had cited concern that homeless people may refuse to leave the premises at the end of the lockdown.

Lesufi was quoted as saying the refusal by these schools was “unfortunate”, “selfish” and was an act of “cowardice” which is “unpatriotic” and demonstrated that Fedsas “still has a long way” to go “to be part of Ubuntu of our country”.

Fedsas told the publication that it had not been properly consulted on the matter.

Fedsasa CEO Paul Colditz reportedly said the refusal to accommodate the homeless people does not mean the organisation is insensitive to the Covid-19 outbreak or the plight of the homeless but it was rather prioritising the interests of pupils.

Colditz was quoted as saying that there had been no talks about who would manage the sanitising of hostels at the end of the lockdown “and there are also costs to be taken care of”.

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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