Grahamstown public library yet to re-open
RESIDENTS of Port Alfred, who borrow books from Grahamstown public library and are anxious for the library to re-open, can take heart.
Site foreman at the library, Billie Landa, said the renovations were delayed by items that were not on the initial assessment, including rotten wooden floors and a leaking roof.
But the roof has been replaced, the floorboards were torn up, concrete floors have been poured, and construction is practically finished, Landa said.
After a snag list has been presented, and the final touches are complete, there will be a handover, he said.
“When the inspectors from the Department of Public Works are satisfied in two week’s time, then they will hand it over to us and only then will we be able to go in to unpack the books,” the assistant director for libraries in Makana Patricia Njilo said.
Librarian Nomthandazo Nontshongwana said the library would probably open for the public in December. However, the head of the library, Ncongwana Spondo, said it is a decision for the municipality to take.
As in the case of the Port Alfred library, the renovations were undertaken by the provincial department of sport, recreation, arts and culture (DSRAC), Port Alfred’s Julia Mvunelwa, who oversees library services in Ndlambe Municipality said.
“The libraries are the competence of the municipality who run them on behalf of the province, which funds the libraries,” Mvunelwa said.
DSRAC funded the Department of Public Works to carry out the renovations, Njilo said.
“The Department of Public Works put the job out for tender last year and the job was awarded to Oguyonke Construction,” Landa said.
Port Alfred library also took more than a year to renovate, which was a great frustration for members of the library.