Does their greed know no bounds?

As corruption reared its ugly head resulting in an R82m school in an uninhabitable condition, thousands of poor pupils are left learning under horrible conditions.

In yesterday’s edition, we reported on 1,900 children from Mayibuye Primary School, in Midrand, who are attending school in dilapidated prefab classrooms while a new state-of-the-art school stands empty nearby.

The facility cannot start operating as a certificate of occupancy was not issued due to the site on which it is built being waterlogged. The building plans were not approved by the City of Joburg, in contravention of building regulations.

This has led to parliament’s portfolio committee on infrastructure chairperson Mpho Modise to call for heads to roll. “It appears to be a case of profit being placed before the interest and lives of learners and educators and this should have never been allowed to happen. Greed and profit-making seem to be at the centre of the reckless decision to continue construction while there were indications of the dangers of such actions,” Modise said.

We agree with Modise, officials involved in the approval of the contract must be criminally charged. It does not make sense how construction of such a huge project would go on without any inspections and approvals unless money exchanged hands for people to look the other way.

How come no inspectors picked up the water problem on the site? How is it possible that the building was completed without inspectors raising alarm about the dangers posed by the water issue?

Government officials clearly do not care about the public they are employed to serve, they are only interested in lining their pockets. The injustice to the children who are being taught in overcrowded old buildings is a violation of their right to education. Every time greed takes over a public project and money gets squandered, it is the poor who always lose out. It is heartbreaking that these children will continue to learn under bad conditions while the department investigates what happened.

Suspend officials who worked on the project, we say, and recoup money from the construction company involved. Then round it all up with criminal charges.