Major questions remain around how the GDE and Department of Infrastructure Development managed to dispose of a major asset in 2000, including a functioning school, and why it has failed to rectify the situation for more than two decades. | amaBhungane
In 2001, the Gauteng Department of Education and the predecessor to the Department of Infrastructure Development sold a"surplus" land parcel for R600 000 - but there was an existing school on the property. In 2016, GDE approved a decision to recover the property via expropriation, but nothing happened. Both departments are blaming each other and have repeatedly failed to correct the mistake.
In June 2000, the GDE via the Department of Development Planning sold off the school, along with a 27ha land parcel that was auctioned for R600 000. To suggest that our client has surreptitiously acted arbitrarily or unlawfully in any manner, would be, with respect, a disingenuous attempt by the media to foist upon the public a misconceived narrative of and concerning our client…
"The lawyers of the Education Department came to the school and assured the principal that this matter would be resolved very soon. Needless to say the department started renting their OWN building… for Hundred and Ten Thousand Rand per month at the time. As far as we know, the rent increased to R180 000 during 2019."
"I've instructed my officials to negotiate with the private owners to buy the piece of land where the school is situated. The private owners were not willing to sell and later were unreasonable and demanded a substantial amount of money which is higher than the market value of the property." "The fact that somebody had left doesn't necessarily mean that all the records that are with GDID would have not been available for anybody to follow through," Baloyi said.
"That question is best responded by GDID. Remember as the department, there is nothing much we can do, and the school must run. We don't have an answer to that," said GDE's director of legal services, Nombedesho Ngcobozi. "If the expropriation process had commenced in 2016, surely by now the GDE would be entitled to the relief sought and there would be no basis for our client to refuse the sale."
We also asked the landlord to comment on Lesufi's claims that they were either unwilling or unreasonable when GDE attempted to buy back the land. The GDE was also responsible for all maintenance and was required to keep the buildings in shape, to be returned"in their original condition" at the end of the lease. In March 2019, the former chair of the school governing body , JS Nkutha, wrote a letter outlining the problems.On numerous occasions the Department brought lawyers, inspectors, etc, to inspect the school. In 2014, the Department even came to collect the building plans of the school. Their plan was to buy back the school.
In another letter sent to GDE on 25 October 2021, the school principal and SGB chairperson Stefans Tefo Molakeng said:"Please take note that our bathrooms are in a very bad shape and needs urgent attention. No child should have to use a bathroom in this state." The plan was still to buy back or expropriate the school property, but the department had seemingly made no progress.
In December 2012, HTS Vereeniging merged with Hoërskool Vereeniging to form the Gymnasium Hoerskool Vereeniging. It is this merger that opened a space for an English school like Phoenix, which has an enrolment of about 1 000 pupils. They were likely misled by the unnamed district director who bore the responsibility for inspecting and authenticating the redundancy of the property before recommending it to be disposed of.But what role should the former Department of Development Planning and Local Government have played before auctioning the property? Didn't they equally have a responsibility to verify its status?
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