Basic Education keeps shifting pit toilet eradication goal posts
24 October 2022
Despite promises from President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) of a special purpose vehicle, to mobilise financial institutions and the private sector, and the Minister for Basic Education, Angie Motshegka’s many platitudes, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is not doing enough to eradicate pit toilets and develop school infrastructure.
In an answer to a parliamentary question from the DA, the Minister revealed that the Department is in the process “to determine revised timelines … to address pit toilets and dilapidated mud, asbestos and plank schools”.
With the exception of the Western Cape, the Auditor-General of South Africa (AG) highlighted ineffective project implementation and management in all school infrastructure projects, including the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI), stating, “The departments are struggling to provide quality education facilities in a successful and timely manner.”
The President’s special purpose vehicle was not even mentioned in the Department’s annual report, proving that it was nothing but another empty promise.