Mmakwena Selepe
Limpopo-born Mmakwena Selepe, chief director of education infrastructure in Gauteng, is tasked with the maintenance of 2 302 schools as part of his duties at the department of infrastructure development.
It is obviously a huge responsibility, something that Selepe describes as “a complex balancing act”.
He is the first to admit that there has not been adequate maintenance of the schools in the province, especially since the dawn of the new democracy in 1994. The reason, he says, is not hard to find. “The new government had to juggle competing priorities to redress injustices of the past,” he says. Inevitably, the lack of maintenance has left some schools in a shabby condition and in need of urgent attention. “It’s a mixed bag,” he admits. “Some schools are in good shape, while others obviously need attention.”
In Selepe’s book development should be a multi-dimensional process involving changes in structures, attitudes and institutions. “There first has to be a paradigm shift in the way our people regard national buildings like schools and libraries. That mental space needs special attention.”
He says there is a general misconception that public buildings belong to the government, when they actually belong to the people. “Judging by the way we going on trashing and burning these buildings, we will have nothing to hand over to future generations,” he cautions. “Every individual must take an interest in safeguarding these assets.”
It pained him when more than 20 schools in the Vuwani area in Limpopo were torched recently. So far this year, he has only had to deal with minor cases involving broken windows, stolen copper wire and frames.
It is Selepe’s contention that development should encompass more than the material and financial side of people’s lives. He believes that the level of infrastructure development in a country is a crucial factor in determining the pace and diversity of economic development.
To this end, his department has introduced new designs for schools in the province. A flagship project is currently under way in Garankuwa in Tshwane, which, according to Selepe, “can make you emotional”.
He says the latest prototype designs for schools provide an environment conducive to learning for both learners and teachers. “It is a holistic approach so we can retain good teachers in our schools. Professionals always compare their working conditions.”
South African schools are big on average, catering for between 1 000 to 1 200 kids. In the new design, the schools have an energy efficient strategy with better insulation in the roof to manage indoor temperatures. The new ceilings are also acoustically designed, to better manage classroom noise levels.
School furniture has been subject to theft for years; Selepe says they have recently designed a unique type of school desk. Gone are the plastic chairs, replaced by a desk with a combined seat, immediately evident as belonging to the department.
“Anybody caught in possession of our furniture will have to explain the how he or she got hold of it,” he warned.
While Selepe’s mandate is, among others, to offer support in terms of development and preservation of schools and doing technical investigations, he is adament that development should be “above brick and mortar issues”.
One New School a Month Programme hits Nellmapius
The commitment made by Gauteng Provincial Government to deliver one new public school every month until the year 2017 has just seen the community of Nellmapius in Mamelodi being officially handed a newly-completed learning facility with state-of-the-art technology in which they have actively participated in building.
On Friday September 23, officials from the department of infrastructure development accompanied the leadership of the organisation under the stewardship of MEC Jacob Mamabolo in proudly handing the keys to Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi and the school principal.
The school premises were abuzz with excited learners, teachers and members of the community as they were informed that the new school was now theirs to care for and to protect as the common heritage of the community. The province said the facility would be a melting pot of modern skills that will produce an advanced generation of professionals.
Referred to as a mega-school that will accommodate about 1 500 learners, all the 32 classrooms of the new Nellmapius Secondary school are fully fitted with paperless learning infrastructure. Lesufi said it is a school of the future that will help learners become active participants in the new economy which uses information communication technologies as the main platform.
More than 100 local contractors participated in the implementation of the project, taking responsibility to deliver different parts of the construction and outlay of the new facility. Dozens of Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) participants also received training in various fields of work during the course of the project.
The end product is a beautiful place of learning which, according to the head of department at infrastructure development Bethuel Netshiswinzhe, is even comparable to or better than some present-day universities in look, feel and technology.
It also features the following facilities: an administration block, 30 smart classrooms (with paperless-learning technology), two smart science laboratories, two smart multi-purpose rooms, a computer laboratory, a library,and a nutrition centre and dining hall. Other features include a courtyard, a guard-house, and covered walkways.
Its sports facilities include a soccer-and-rugby field, and combi courts (to accommodate netball, basketball and tennis courts). It also has a refuse yard and a pump room.
The green-technology aspects of the facility are in the form of roof insulation (which reduces energy loss from the buildings), glazing (that maximises natural light into the building and reduces energy loss from the building, energy-saving lighting (LED light fittings), an underground rainwater marvesting tank, landscaping, insulated walls for heat conservation and sound-proofing.
MEC Mamabolo also called on the community to isolate and report people who destroy public infrastructure as part of their protest action. He said no one should ever be allowed to vent their grievances at the expense of public infrastructure.
Hence the new Nellmapius Secondary School should serve many future generations of learners to become better persons in society, he said.
Make a pledge to protect public property
The I Care We Care campaign has received support from the Portfolio Committee on Infrastructure Development at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
The campaign has also been endorsed by the members of the executive council for health, education, and social development, respectively: Qedani Mahlangu, Panyaza Lesufi and Nandi Mayathula Khoza, who also attended the meeting.
Chairperson of the committee, Lindiwe Lasindwa, told the meeting: “As public representatives, it is our responsibility to protect public property. We therefore support the campaign”.
Lesufi said that as a sign of his support for the campaign he had already signed the I Care We Care Campaign when both the department of education and the department of infrastructure development launched a new model of a primary school in Ga-Rankuwa in August. He said both departments would as of August 2016 be launching a new school every month and also asking the underlying communities to protect the new schools.
Launched by the Gauteng Provincial Government in Bekkersdal, Westonaria on July 13 2016, the campaign seeks to raise awareness about the consequences of the destruction of public property that has been sweeping through the province and the country, leaving many communities deprived of key social infrastructure.
Infrastructure Development MEC Jacob Mamabolo told the committee: “Through this campaign we are building a culture whereby communities join hands to protect public property. We know apartheid denied us as a people, ownership of assets, and we also that know public property is still treated as elitist and that it is seen as a bargaining tool when people are angry with the government. Together we must arrest this problem before it is too late.”
He made a impassioned plea for communities across the province to embrace the value that public assets bring to them and they should be conscious of the fact that the destruction, looting and vandalism of public property impoverish the very people that these assets are meant to serve.
The Gauteng Provincial government will continue visiting various communities as part of the Ntirhisano Programme and will provide pledge books to garner signatures of one million people who are committed to working with authorities in ensuring that the destruction of public property is a thing of the past.
Those who want to pledge can visit www.icarewecare.co.za to make their mark
Additional stories by Alfred Nhlapo and Theo Nkonki