Education departments must hold builders liable Infrastructure rollout backlog

Legislators have hit out at provincial education departments for failing to hold constructors accountable, which has led to a backlog in infrastructure rollout.

Stakeholders in the education sector, including the portfolio committee on basic education, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and all nine provincial education departments this week held an infrastructure roundtable to thrash out solutions.

Chairperson of the portfolio committee Bongiwe Mbinqo-gigaba said there should be strengthened monitoring and evaluation by provincial departments coupled with consistent enforcement of consequence management against implementing agents to enforce accountability.

“The committee has thus resolved that the DBE and all provincial departments must strengthen and standardise their service level agreements and ensure a built-in penalty mechanism to hold implementing agents accountable for any delays in delivering on infrastructure projects,” Mbinqo-gigaba said.

“The incessant delays have an unwarranted and unacceptable impact on the mandate to deliver on the constitutional promise of quality education to all.

“The committee was informed that there is approximately 20% of cost escalation year on year for every delayed project. This is concerning in the context that there is currently insufficient budget to eradicate the backlog.”

One of the provinces with a massive infrastructure backlog is the Eastern Cape.

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga, in a reply to a parliamentary question tabled in April, said most schools in the Eastern Cape failed to meet the minimum standards prescribed under the South African Schools Act.

Equal Education co-head of research Hopolang Selebalo said the government needs to do right by pupils and teachers. “According to the 2019 National Education Infrastructure Management System, there were 3 710 schools with only plain pit toilets across the country.”