29310637 Nadia Romanos

Zakhele - Open land developments

School children and residents in Mamelodi East are troubled by a large open piece of land next to Zakhele Primary School. The 100m² area belongs to the school but they cannot afford to get it fenced. Locals have been using it as a dumping ground for more than 25 years. It has become a health hazard and danger.
Used condoms, broken glass, old furniture, rusted tin cans and dead animals are just some of the things that can be found lying around the open land, only a few metres away from the school’s buildings and vegetable gardens. In terms of crime on the open land, “the list is endless,” says the chair of the school governing body, Mr Kosabo Dube. “And [the rubbish] is a health hazard.” Many of the 400 learners use this land as a shortcut when walking to and from school.
“There are boys – street kings – there that want to take me and then I run away,” says 12 year old, Sibusiso Sithole. “I walk this way because [that] way, I am scared,” he adds, pointing towards the littered piece of land. It is marked as a dumping ground in Pretoria map books.
Trevor Molefe (24), a local, says he is aware that the land belongs to the school but he dumps his rubbish there because it is closer to his home and the municipality picks it up. The Mamelodi Metropolitan Municipality was unavailable for comment but Dube confirmed that they do pick up the rubbish. Although some of the rubbish may be removed, not all of it is and the area remains very polluted and hazardous.
Local women Maggie Mabuza (40) and Gift Tsie (37) say the open land is a very dangerous area, where men smoke dagga and attempt to kidnap children. There have also been a number of shoot outs and rapes, of which Dube says there are too many to mention.
Dube has been involved with the school for many years and is currently serving his second term as chair of the governing body. He says it took a long time just to get the school’s old, leaking toilets repaired. “I had to fight [with the government],” he says. The funding for the toilets was provided by the British Council. Dube says that although they are all very grateful for the help they have received, the list of challenges they still face is very long. He says that security is a big concern for Zakhele. Members of the public can walk through the school at any time and many of them use the school’s bathrooms for water.
The school wants to fence the open land off as a security measure and to prevent people from dumping there. About five years ago, the local government said they would fence it off and build a sports field for the learners. “We are still waiting,” says school grounds man, Mr Thami Mokoeia. Zakhele is over 50 years old and is one of the oldest primary schools in Mamelodi, but still does not have any sports teams or physical education.
Zakhele is a Section 21 rural school, which means the school is responsible for the management and usage of their own budgets. The South African Schools Act points out that parents and members of local communities are often in the best position to know what a school really needs and what its problems are. Parents and teachers are given the right to form governing bodies. Section 21 schools have to pay for services rendered themselves, such as water and electricity and the government funds things such as infrastructure, staff salaries and educational materials.
Zakhele raises their own funds with a small tuck shop just outside the school property. It generates about R340 a day, which goes towards food for the children and sending teachers for training. Children and staff get a healthy lunch and tea free every day. Dube says for 60% of the children, this is their last meal of the day. The school, however, cannot generate enough funds on their own for proper fencing and security.
The school’s treasurer and member of the governing body, Edward Skhosana, says: “We’ve got a lot of challenges and the government is doing very little to help us.”

According to Steve Sibeho, Director for the Department of Facilities Management, Zakhele is not on the government’s top list of priorities. He says the province creates a needs analysis of the schools in the area and then compiles a priority list based on those with the highest need. Schools with no fence at all are of a higher priority than those such as Zakhele, which has some fencing, even if not around the entire perimeter.
Sibeho says the fence will not be attended to within the current financial year.