Page 3 - Eastern Cape Education

Message from the SG
As we prepare ourselves for the festive season, we are con dentthateverythingisinplacetoensurethatwecan hit the ground running in January 2020 when educators and learners return to school for another year of quality teaching and learning.
I would like to take a moment to re ect on 2019 by highlighting some of the successes and challenges that shaped the schools’ infrastructure landscape during this year.
2019 was once again characterised by the increasing needs of the communities we serve and ever-growing backlogs. Our budget allocation for the schools’ infrastructure programme for the 2019/20 Financial year is R1.585 bn. Due to an over-commitment in the previous nancial year no new projects were rolled-out and these projects will be re-activated or progressed further when budget becomes available.
We have just over 2000 projects on our books at various stages of infrastructure delivery. 590 of these are in design and are ready to be progressed further when budget becomes available; 394 projects are currently in various stages of construction; and 1060 are in handover and close out stage.
Planning and delivery of schools’ infrastructure takes place in a complex environment which is in uenced by a myriad of factors, from complicated issues such as budget availability to something as simple as inclement weather conditions. It is important to take cognisance of this when doing a critical assessment of our challenges and successes. The task at hand, to ensure that every school in our province has quality infrastructure conducive to teaching and learning, is huge.
Our backlog to bring all schools in the province on par with the Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards on Public School Infrastructure alone currently stands at R73 billion. This does not take into account new infrastructure required to meet the changing demographics happening in our districts. Despite the challenges we have several reasons to celebrate and we can also always do better.
Over 20 new schools will of cially be handed over in 2020, including OR Tambo Technical High which will be completed as part of our contribution towards the legacy of the great Oliver Reginald Tambo. We are also forging ahead to establish partnerships to deliver much needed sanitation facilities and classrooms to schools who are in dire need. With the limited state funding available, we need all the help we can get to provide decent schools’ infrastructure to our people, and we will continue to work actively with any organisation wishing to support our cause.
I would like to encourage every single person – irrespective of the role you play in ensuring that our province’s children get the infrastructure they deserve – to keep the faith, to celebrate the small and the big wins. It is easy to become disillusioned when one considers the work to be done, however, keep your nose to the grindstone, do what you need to do ef ciently and effectively, and we will get there in the end.
I wish you and your families a festive season lled with blessings and abundance. Rest well and come back revived to build the Eastern Cape we all want.
Mr Themba Kojana Superintendent General
3 | December 2019 | Sakh’isidima news