Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Roy Jankielsohn MPL and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL with images here, here, here and here
The Vogelfontein School Project remains another empty promise by the Free State ANC-led government. After R18.5 million was spent on the project, there are only a few cement slabs left to show for it, and children are forced to navigate busy provincial roads to get to school.
The school project was announced by former Premier Ace Magashule in his 2018 State of the Province Address. A contractor was appointed who abandoned the project after consuming R18.5 million from Free State coffers.
The DA requested the Public Protector to investigate the expenditure in 2021 and is still awaiting a report on this.
In March 2024, the MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure in the Free State, Ms Kathleen Dibolelo Mance, indicated in replies to DA questions in the Free State Legislature that R118 million had been budgeted for the project, that designs had been completed, a tender had gone out in November 2024, and the contractor would be on site by 12 May 2025.
In a recent reply, the MEC has now reneged on all previous commitments, indicating that they are still in the planning phase, that there is no budget, and no tender has gone out.
The heartless ANC-run provincial government’s empty promises and tender controversies have again left the children of an impoverished and vulnerable community destitute and in danger.
The DA will continue to pressure government to deliver on the promised school and request the Public Protector to speed up the release of their report on this issue.