30-YEAR WAIT: DA PETITIONS GAUTENG LEGISLATURE OVER SOSHANGUVE SCHOOL CRISIS
BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCALISTEN HERE @KASIBCAUDIO
SOSHANGUVE — The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has formally handed over a legislative petition to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL), demanding that the provincial government end a devastating 30-year infrastructure delay and immediately construct a primary school in Block KK, Soshanguve.
The petition highlights a deep structural failure in the northern Pretoria township, where generations of families have been forced to send young children to distant classrooms under conditions that actively threaten their lives.
Soshanguve's Dangerous Commute
Currently, Block KK has no primary school facility. Local children are forced to travel to the nearest institution located in neighboring Block P.
To reach their classrooms, hundreds of young learners—some as young as four years old—must cross a heavily polluted, sewage-contaminated river every single morning. For over a decade, community volunteers have hauled heavy rocks to build crude, makeshift stepping structures to get children across the water safely.
The situation turned catastrophic during the heavy regional floods of March 2026, when the community-built rock crossing was entirely washed away by sweeping currents. The flash flooding completely blocked access to education, leaving over 200 homes damaged and forcing local learners to miss critical school days.
Local community leaders reported multiple near-fatal incidents during the floods, including a five-year-old child who slipped from the rocks and had to be pulled from the raging torrents by a bystander.
Compounding the physical danger of drowning, residents have raised severe alarm over exposure to raw sewage toxins, as well as a heightened risk of violent crime. The thick, unmaintained brush surrounding the isolated riverbanks has left students vulnerable to muggings and sexual assault during late-afternoon returns.
Broken Infrastructure Promises
The DA's petition exposes a pattern of administrative stagnation by the state. While the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) long ago surveyed the area and officially ring-fenced an empty plot of land earmarked for the school, no brick-and-mortar development has ever materialized on the site.
A promised pedestrian bridge meant to safeguard the river route has similarly failed to move past the planning phases.
NEWS ~ AUDIO ~ VIDEO ~ EVENTS ~ TOURS ~ STORES
WWW.KASIBC.BLOGSPOT.COM
No comments:
Post a Comment
KASIPEOPLE