More schools to be constructed, more jobs for locals
With the Northern Cape Department of education 2013/14 budget overall being R4 448 073 000 (four billion four hundred and forty eight million and seventy three thousands) the department have dedicated aside R316, 934 000 for infrastructure, this year’s overall budget have upgraded compared to the last year’s financial year which was R4 289 242 000 (four billion two hundred and eighty nine million and two hundred and forty two thousand).
Schools that will benefit from the infrastructures development include those that were in the departmental plan in the last year’s financial year; meanwhile there will be replacement furniture and other necessary logistics in other schools around the province. As part of the infrastructure Tetlanyo Secondary School is 75% complete as from early March this year , as part of the departmental last year’s financial plan about 21 ablution blocks; 40 fencing projects;38 classrooms; 19 media centres, 12 administration blocks and 40 ECD classrooms and over 300 schools’ electrical connections were refurbished.
During her recent departmental 2013/14 budget speech Gizelda Cjiekella divulged that the department will be opening three newly built schools in Louisvale, Kakamas and Paballelo (Siyanda District), the opening of the three schools will be in September, Cjiekella believes that the opening of the three schools will ease the pressure from the other schools around the municipality, this will also see surrounding schools stay free from being overcrowded by learners.
As part of the national department programme, Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI) the department is set to construct a R25M school, Sternham Primary, in addition 21 schools are to be provided with sanitation and clean water, three schools namely Wrenchville Primary School, Emmanuel High School and Jan Kempsdorp High School will all be constructed in the 2013/14 financial year, all the trio schools will be constructed at the value of R40M each.
The upcoming construction will also benefit locals who will be temporarily employed during the process of construction; aboutm109 locals could be employed, NCDoE will be complying with the government initiative the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), the programme is aimed to offer locals with temporary job opportunities, the department have budgeted R5.8M for the temporary employees.
“The target is to create 109 temporary jobs through 12 infrastructure and 9 environmental projects to be funded from this grant. These will be augmented through other infrastructure projects that will be implemented through labour intensive methods to ensure that the province attains its EPWP job creation targets”, Cjiekella said.