Deputy Speaker, the ANC welcomes the partnership between the government and the private sector, which has resulted in AngloGold Ashanti investing and assisting government's drive to eradicate mud schools and inappropriate and unsafe structures.
The opening of Sonata Primary School in Libode in the Eastern Cape is one such example of the success stories of the public and private sector partnership. The intervention of the mining group, AngloGold Ashanti, has transformed the dilapidated mud structure of Sonata Primary School into a well-developed school with six new classrooms, an administration block, 12 toilets, where there were none, and a soup kitchen, to the value of R2,2 million. The new classrooms, administration block and toilets will improve the quality of life and education of the children and teachers. Sonata Primary School in Libode in the Eastern Cape will no longer have to endure heavy rains and storms with only a leaking roof as protection - a situation which made it almost impossible to learn. The ANC calls for more partners from the private sector to emulate this initiative and to partner with government in investing in school infrastructure to improve the country's education. I thank you.