Khayelitsha learners miss a week of school as sewage saga continues

There have been no classes at Kuyasa Primary School since Friday. Photos: Vincent Lali

Learners have not attended Kuyasa Primary School in Khayelitsha after parents closed the school last Friday because of recurring sewage leaks.

Western Cape education department (WCED) officials met parents on Thursday afternoon. Deputy director-general Alan Meyer asked parents to let learners return to school on Friday because the toilets were now clean.

But the parents have demanded that a health official first inspect the school.

Meyer told parents that a contractor had unblocked the sewage pipes and will replace the ground at the spill area, and another contractor will use cameras to inspect the pipes for blockages.

Ward 99 councillor Lonwabo Mqina (ANC) said he welcomed the progress made but asked for a health certificate to confirm it is safe for learners to return. The area was still smelly, he said.

Meyer said a health official from the department would inspect the school. He said permanently fixing the school drainage system could take two months.

Sisanda Nyawula, SANCO deputy secretary for the Cape Peninsula, criticised Meyer for not dealing promptly with the sewage spill. The department would have acted immediately if the problem occurred in Camps Bay, she said.

“It should not take a protest for WCED to respond,” she said. Parents had marched to the department’s offices on Wednesday.

Meyer said he attended to problems quickly in all township schools and claimed they were among the best-performing schools in the Western Cape.

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said efforts to clean the sewage spill on Wednesday were delayed “when contractors on site were instructed not to proceed with the required work”.

“The contractors further indicated that they felt unsafe in the environment, and, as a result, critical remediation efforts could not be completed as scheduled.”

She accused some of those involved of being “more interested in political point-scoring than in supporting practical solutions”.

School governing body deputy chairperson Thandiswa Bolani, who led Wednesday’s protest, said the contractor was turned away due to unhappiness with the quality of the work.

Western Cape education department officials met parents on Thursday afternoon.

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