Nineteen Eastern Cape schools risk starting 2017 without water
Nineteen Eastern Cape schools risk starting the year without any water thanks to the Department of Basic Education’s alleged failure to pay a service provider R1.9m. Jo-Minproc Engineering is threatening to remove water supply infrastructure on Tuesday at schools in Queenstown and Sterkspruit. Company manager Eric Sefa said lawyers had been instructed to seek an interdict preventing the water supply being reconnected until the payments have been made. The company got a four-month water and sanitation tender for the schools in 2014 as part of the accelerated school infrastructure delivery initiative‚ which is aimed at providing water and sanitation, as well as replacing inadequate classrooms. The Eastern Cape‚ which has a major problem with mud schools‚ is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the programme. In e-mails sent to the department and seen by The Times‚ Sefa said that due to the lack of payment‚ his company has had to retrench staff and faces a fine from SARS as a result of ...
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