Pretoria, September 17: Several schools in Pretoria were furious after their electricity was cut off without warning on Tuesday, because the department of public works – which was responsible for the property tax – apparently hadn’t paid the Tshwane metro council.
Yolanda Wilken, deputy principal of the Wierdapark Primary School, said the school’s electricity and water account was paid up to date, but the property tax was apparently R550 000 in arrears.
“It’s a disaster. We’re in the middle of a school concert and were forced to rent generators at a cost of R5 000 per night to carry on with the show.”
Karel Minnie, former mayor of Centurion and a former MP who has a granddaughter in this school, said it was an absolute disgrace that service delivery could be so chaotic, and that children were now suffering because of it.
Matrics writing exams
Jannie Raath, principal of Uitsig High School, on Tuesday forbade the contractors from cutting off the electricity. “Our matrics are busy with exams. The interests of the children are certainly more important than defaulted payments, for which we weren’t responsible.”
This school’s electricity and water was also paid in full, but the property tax was apparently in arrears by R900 000.
Wilma Claassen, principal of Doornkloof Primary School, said they were at the mercy of authorities. According to her, they couldn’t do a thing when the school’s power was cut. This school’s property tax is estimated to be about R273 000 in arrears.
Claassen said it placed the school in an extremely difficult position. “We can’t make copies of test papers. Nobody can work on the computers.”
Accounts paid up
She said she couldn’t fathom why the power was cut when that account had been paid in full.
Willie Hendrikz, principal of Theresapark Primary School, said this school was also forced to borrow a generator to be able to carry on with their school concert.
“The council’s behaviour is extremely disappointing, especially if you take into account that schools are innocent.” Where schools’ power was not cut, there were several governing bodies at their wits’ end with regard to the astronomical service accounts.
At Garsfontein High School, the electricity and water account for this month was R172 000, where it was usually between R50 000 and R70 000 per month.
Broke an agreement
Christo van Rooyen, chair of the governing body, said they were trying to determine what was going on, since the amount was simply too much to pay for parents.
Beeld learnt from a confidential source that property tax in arrears amounted to millions of rands. The Tshwane metro council, upon enquiry said it had earlier made an agreement with the national and provincial departments of public works, to pay the tax in October or November.
The date which was agreed upon, was August 1. The provincial department did not fulfil their part of the agreement, and started to cut the schools’ power.
The Gauteng education department said they were aware of the problem, but that public works, which was currently known as the department of infrastructure, should have paid the property tax.
—Agencies