Circuit office in desperate need of an upgrade

The Limpopo Department of Education admitted its awareness of the dilapidated state of the Hlanganani South Circuit offices. This is after the Public Services Association (PSA) expressed its concern over the deteriorating infrastructure and the broken sewage pipes.

Responding to enquiries by Limpopo Mirror, Tidimalo Chenue from the Limpopo Department of Education said that the matter was being prioritised. He said that provision was being made for the refurbishment of eight existing toilets, the construction of a septic tank, the demolishing of the existing pit toilets and the erection of a steel palisade fence. He said that an inspection team would visit the office to quantify the work to be done on the dilapidated buildings.

John Teff, the PSA’s provincial manager, criticized the department for not providing a safe and conducive working environment. “The employee’s lives seem not to matter to the department. Employees at the circuit have been forgotten by the department,” said Teff.

Limpopo Mirror visited the offices on Friday, 21 August. What witnessed was that one part of the ceiling is collapsing. No lights can be found in the corridor and in the toilets. The staff members store water in buckets for flushing toilets. At the back of the offices is a broken sewage system and workers claim they use their own money for repairing the sewage pipes. The paint on the inside walls is peeling off. The only semi-reliable source of water is a small JoJo tank in the circuit yard, next to the Department of Correctional Services.

“The situation has been like that since 2015. The sewage system is frequently broken, and we cannot stand the smell and continue to work when raw sewage is all over the back of our offices,” said one of the workers, who preferred to remain anonymous.

The Hlanganani South circuit education offices are situated between other public institutions such as the post office, Tiyani Correctional Services, Tiyani Court, and the SAPS.

According to the worker, the plumbing of the four institutions joins right in their yard and usually breaks down. “The main problem is that the sewage pipes are old and break easily,” said the worker.

News - Date: 18 September 2020

Bernard Chiguvare

Bernard Chiguvare is a Zimbabwean-born journalist. He writes mainly for the online publication, Groundup.

Email: [email protected]