Storm-damaged schools’ limbo

DELAYED tender processes have meant that many KwaZulu-Natal schools damaged in the October storm last year have not been repaired more than a year later.

The more than 40 schools operated with severely damaged infrastructure this academic year and some were forced to vacate parts of damaged buildings. Schools resorted to using churches and community halls to accommodate pupils.

The Education Department yesterday said it was difficult to commit itself to saying when the damages would be fixed.

Spokesperson Sihle Mlotshwa said there were many governmental processes involved, including tender processes. He said feasibility studies and quotation processes had started, which would be followed by other processes, including the awarding of tenders.

Mlotshwa could not say whether the affected schools would be repaired by the 2019 academic year.

“I cannot commit and say that the damages will be repaired by the time schools reopen in 2019,” he said.