Water shortage problem at Ormonde Primary School ‘temporarily’ resolved

The Gauteng education department says it has provided a temporary solution to the water shortage at Ormonde Primary School where pupils were reportedly sent away by the school due to no water, no toilets and no learning material.

The newly built primary school, situated south of Johannesburg, was supposed to open on Wednesday but it was informed to start on 25 January because the school’s toilets were not connected to the water supply. The department said this was not a department instruction, saying that may be illegal.

Department spokesperson Oupa Bodibe said water tankers had been sent to the school to help alleviate the problem. He said the lack of water was caused by a delay in connecting the school to the main bulk water supply because it was standing on two sites that had not yet been approved to be combined as one ERF by the municipality.

“There are two parcels of land or ERFs that must be combined into one for the school. The department has applied for the land to be combined into one site,” Bodibe said.

Bodibe said he could not understand why the school would have a crisis when a septic tank was installed at the premises last year and the school had had no problem. He said, however, the department was in the process of negotiating with the municipality to fast-track the approval of the connection to the water supply.

Regarding a complaint by some parents and pupils that learner support material such as textbooks and writing materials were not available at the school because they were not delivered by the department, Bodibe said the department was not aware of that and no complaint was brought forward to it regarding the nondelivery of books.

“However, we as the department are going to investigate this matter,” Bodibe said.

– ericn@citizen.co.za