WATCH: ANC ‘neglect’ blamed for flooded classrooms, broken roads at Zikhethele Secondary School

By Lebone Rodah Mosima

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says years of neglect and infrastructure failure in the ANC-led Lesedi Local Municipality have left pupils at the no-fee Zikhethele Secondary School in Devon, Johannesburg, struggling to learn in flooded and unsafe classrooms.

In a statement on Monday, DA Midvaal councillor Mokete Motsamai said the party had conducted an oversight visit to the school as part of a broader assessment of governance and service delivery in the municipality.

“The oversight visit revealed a state of critical decline,” Motsamai said. “The road infrastructure surrounding the school is failing, marked by numerous potholes.”

The DA accused the municipality of failing to act despite repeated complaints from the community. “This clearly sends a message to these children that they are not valued and are forgotten by the ANC,” Motsamai said.

He said the absence of a stormwater drainage system had caused severe flooding on school grounds. “It was found that several classrooms have been flooded and are currently unable to be utilised by the school community, directly disrupting learning,” he said.

Residents told the oversight team that the problems had persisted since 2019, with no municipal intervention. “This leaves students broken and beaten down, as the feeling that there is no hope for change mounts, crushing motivation,” Motsamai said.

He added that the deterioration of infrastructure had “left learners and residents to bear the brunt of an unsafe and deteriorating environment, as well as a deeper sense of loss of dignity”.

The DA called on the municipality to urgently repair the damaged infrastructure and “restore the school and create a conducive learning environment so that students’ dreams can be rekindled”.

INSIDE EDUCATION