Chairperson, I dedicate my speech today to every learner who is still taught in an unsafe school building and schools without water and sanitation facilities, after years of promises during the Sona, state of the province address, Scopa, and Budget Vote speeches.
Coding and tablets won't make a difference to the learners who have died doing something as simple as using a toilet. In 2007, the six-year-old Siyamthanda Mtundu died after the walls of a toilet collapsed on him. In 2013, seven-year-old Lister Magongwa died after the walls of a toilet collapsed on him. In January 2014, five-year-old Michael Komape died after drowning in a dilapidated pit toilet. In 2018, five-year-old Lumka Mkhethwa died after drowning in a pit toilet.
In 2019, the warning lights are still not seen, as the Eastern Cape department spends R4,8 million on nine uncompleted pit latrines. It amounts to more than R533 000 per toilet.
The latest National Education Infrastructure Management System, Neims, report still paints a very bleak picture with Limpopo still having 2 524 schools with pit latrines, the Eastern Cape has 1 945 and KwaZulu-Natal has 2 607. Why was there a difference in statistics in Neims report and the Rapid Audit report from the department to the President?
In February 2014, the Limpopo Department of Education announced that the initial budget of R997 million would see the eradication of the bucket and pit toilets in 868 schools by the end of 2014. I quote Phuti Seloba:
I can put my head on the block and say that all the outstanding toilets will be delivered before the end of 2014. We just need our people to be patient with us!
Well, five years and five months later, our people are still waiting.
Afrikaans:
Toilette is egter nie die enigste infrastruktuurrisiko nie. Op 1 Februarie vanjaar sterf Roydon Olckers, Jandr Steyn, Marli Currie en Marnus Nagel, nadat 'n loopbrug by Horskool Driehoek in Vanderbijlpark ineenstort.
Di tragedie moet as 'n ernstige waarskuwing dien om inspeksie by al ons skole te doen en te verseker dat die strukturele integriteit van alle klaskamers, geboue, loopgange en bre aan die aanvaarbare standaarde, soos uiteengesit in wetgewing, voldoen.
English:
We have some solutions. Reverse the massive budget cut to school infrastructures. R7,2 billion was cut and it returned to us at an unacceptable rate of drips ...