Fiscal cuts impact safety at school
It is uncertain when a much-needed new fence will be erected at Heidedal Primary School where a parent, Christo Gawie, has raised concern about the safety of learners during school hours. Large portions of the fence are non-existent and anyone can enter the premises at any time.
In response to a complaint from Gawie, an official at the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) confirmed via email that the work was scheduled to start in the second week of September. However, at the time of going to print, no work had been done.
Fiscal cuts
Responding to a query from George
Herald, WCED director of communications Bronagh Hammond said Heidedal Primary is one of the last fencing projects the department intended on implementing in the current 2023/24 financial year. "We have constructed 11 thus far. It has been widely reported that there are imminent fiscal cuts in all provinces, which has affected our infrastructure budget. It is therefore unclear as to when the project will resume," she said.
"Further clarity on the severity of the budget cuts is expected in November, but the provincial government will be doing everything that it can in that process to protect frontline services such as health and education from the worst of these imminent cuts. It is a very difficult situation for us to navigate as the Western Cape Government, but we are doing everything that we can
to continue with our planned programmes given the difficult fiscal climate."
She said in the interim, the Safe Schools project role players have been alerted about the safety concerns, which will be addressed with local law enforcement agencies.
Police called
Gawie said in one instance he had to call the police to remove three adult males from the school premises. This happened while classes were in progress. "I hope the department will take full responsibility for the state of affairs should something happen to any child at school.
“The fence has been like this for years. Do we really wish gangs to enter the premises and harm children before the department starts acting? School grounds are supposed to be safe. A school is a children's home during school hours."
Financial crisis
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde warned that South Africa faces a financial crisis with
a potentially devastating impact on basic service delivery, unless President Cyril Ramaphosa and National Treasury act with urgency. He said national government will not be able to fund the 2023 mediumterm expenditure framework, in large part due to lower-than-anticipated revenue from tax, the crippling debt servicing costs of the government, knock-on effects of load shedding, and an unfunded increase in the public sector wage bill "which was centrally negotiated and agreed to by Pretoria".
"Alarmingly, rather than addressing this looming fiscal crisis through sound and critical policy choices and structural interventions, national government has tried to pass this budget shortfall onto provincial governments.
“It is unacceptable that provinces will be forced to absorb the budget shortfall as a result of the public sector wage agreement, as well as a reduction in the provincial equitable share and cuts to conditional grants," said Winde.