Long walk to flood repair
THREE months short of the anniversary of last year’s floods, 100 KZN schools remain physically damaged from the 2022 event.
At the same time, 50-year-old Dale van Blerk, a teacher of teachers in education technology, soldiered on through the Midlands mist on his walk from Johannesburg. He was relieved that his walk for education was not as gruelling as the past month, with Free State temperatures of between 30 and 40ºC.
His aim: to draw attention to his pitch to the government to use alternative building technology to speedily repair damaged schools, one that drew the attention of the national Department of Infrastructure and the KZN Education Department, he said.
“But around the time of the ANC conference there was some complication around priorities,” said Van Blerk’s brother, Brian, CEO of Brothers Van Blerk, a non-profit organisation that specialises in alternative building technology.
“We welcome any assistance,” said
KZN Education Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi, adding that the concept needed to be processed through the head of department. The Department of Public Works did not respond to requests for comment.
Dale’s destination, where he is scheduled to arrive on Monday, is the Dawede Primary School in Kloof. That school, and St Novard’s Primary School in Scottburgh, had been suggested as good starting points for the new construction by the KZN Education Department, said Brian.
The alternative building technology, known as Moladi, involves use of a mould and a pouring system with concrete, “and a secret by-product within that”, which takes three days to harden as opposed to a month.
“We have implemented it in 26 countries. In some areas of South Africa it has not been accepted by the market, which still prefers brick and mortar,” he said.
Brian said government had come up with a quote of R140million for alterations to one of the schools in question, a job his company could do with R50m, including demolition costs.
“A hundred schools have been completely damaged by the floods. Children cannot attend them; 124 have been badly damaged and 620 have been affected,” he said.
After Dawede and St Novard’s schools had been fixed, the plan was to roll out work on the next 30.
During his walk, which he started on January 4, Dale said he had spread the word about alternative building technology.
This week he popped into Michaelhouse school and met uMngeni Municipality mayor Chris Pappas, he said.