DA urges provincial government to prevent mass blackout at schools
5 November 2019
The Democratic Alliance in the Northern Cape (DA) urges the provincial government to prevent the widespread disconnection of electricity at schools.
Following our earlier call to the Northern Cape Department of Roads and Public Works to settle the outstanding accounts for the AJ Ferreira High School in Upington, we are relieved indeed that the school has electricity and that it seems to have been spared the worst consequences of government’s ineptitude.
At the same time, it is alarming to note that the Westerkim Primary School in the same municipality has had their electricity disconnected yesterday. Information at our disposal seems to indicate that an amount of R23 024.38 was outstanding as of September 2019, with a letter threatening disconnection of electricity dispatched on October 1 2019.
Other schools at risk of disconnection include the Rietfontein Combined School, where there is a dispute between the provincial department of Roads & Public Works and the municipality regarding the amount in arrears. The Philandersbron Primary School and Leerkrans Primary School had yearly property rates becoming due on October 31 2019, but both schools already carry the burden of outstanding accounts.