Following an oversight visit on September 7 by Action SA councillor Lwanda Bini and its chairperson of constituency Themba Mabunda at Durban Deep Primary School, major issues of hygiene and sanitation were highlighted.
Issues of unhygienic and inadequate toilet facilities, overflowing sewerages running in the school yard and non-service delivery make promises from officials unconvincing.
Toilets are in no condition to be used as once you sit on top of it, the seats cave in.
The school has more than 1 200 learners from grade R to grade seven and while the School Governing Body is quite divided, no one wants to address this matter.
It has been alleged that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) inspected the school which was said to be about 89% completed, but nothing has been done.
“Panyaza [Lesufi] promised people of Ward 127 Durban Deep, Matholesville Plot 8 and Creswell Park that the school has already finished the paper. Nothing really has been done,” Bini said and continued to say that there was the promise that the toilets would be fixed, and while a service provider has been appointed, no work is done.
The core issue that surfaced from this inspection was the dilapidated state of the toilet facilities, which are not operational – some were badly damaged and would need replacements, and others were totally not functional.
“There is open sewage water drifting near where children play, unusable and unhygienic toilets and nothing is happening. This is something we need to intervene as a community, as parents, and as a neighbourhood to put our children in a safe place,” Mabunda said.
The matter was brought to the attention of GDE, and it has been alleged that there was a budget allocated which yielded no fruits.
Mabunda cited that it is painful to see the school like this and explained that their inspection was done to assess the situation.
The GDE said it can confirm that the toilets at the school are functional though one block needs regular maintenance. Accordingly, the service provider was appointed and started working on 13 September and is still onsite.
