KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has called for the ring-fencing of the maintenance budget at all levels of government to cater for the regular and scheduled maintenance of public infrastructure.

Speaking during the handover of the newly-refurbished Pholela High Schol in Bulwer on Friday, 08 October, Premier Zikalala said it was not enough to build new infrastructure, but then fail to maintain it. Premier Zikalala said the democratic government has since 1994, delivered social and economic infrastructure worth hundreds of billions of rands. The challenge however, remained with regard to maintaining the infrastructure especially schools, clinics and sports fields.

The renovated Pholela High School was completed last month after undergoing major refurbishment of close to R100 million after falling into a state of utter disrepair over a number of decades. Since its establishment in 1921, the historic school has produced among others UKZN Prof. Paulos Zulu, Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, Judge Sandile Ngcobo, Former KZN Premier Willies Mchunu, IEC Deputy Chair Mawethu Mosery, MEC for Social Development Nonhlanhla Khoza, Mpumalanga MEC Sibongile Manana, Businessman and Engineer Trueman Goba , Hloniphizwe Mtolo, Chairman of Shell Companies of South Africa and Dr Brenda Kubheka, MD of Health IQ Consulting and Pholela Alumni Committee.

The handover on Friday was graced by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, MEC for Education Kwazi Mshengu, local mayors and traditional leaders.

“We are handing over a refurbished Pholela High School to celebrate the attainment of the dream of a few, which through the agency of many, is now set to benefit generations to come. Working together with the provincial government, these key stakeholders – business, the local community, former pupils and the current pupils – join in the realisation of this dream,” said Premier Zikalala.

The Premier added: “What we have seen each time we visited the school was a good example of what happens when infrastructure is not routinely maintained. This is one of the most fundamental weaknesses in our system. The democratic government has delivered houses, basic services, access roads, clinics, hospitals and schools and placed billions of rand worth of infrastructure in the hands of the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal. What we learn from the example of Pholela High School and similar structures is the need to make provision in our budgets for maintenance. During the State of the Province Address this year, we identified this vital cog in the management of our assets as key to continued delivery of services by local government,” Premier Zikalala.

Pholela High School was established by the Presbyterian Church in 1921 and is now under the KZN Department of Education. An intervention by former learner at the school and then Premier Willies Mchunu in 2018 laid bare the extent of the dilapidation of the Dutch architecture style buildings which had not been maintained properly over time. There were reports by the Pholela Alumni Association that the structure had even become a hazard to the learners, teachers and workers at the school.

The current site was handed over on 19 September 2019 and took 18-months to complete on 07 September 2021 on a budget of R 90 921 924.74. The school has been supplied with equipment for ICT, Maths, Science and Technology to the value of R3.5million and will serve 1000 learners. Now we have a state-of-the-art Science Technology and Maths institution in a rural area, that will ready the learners for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and entry onto the global economy.

During construction the project employed 129 workers. In addition, 38 youth under 35 years of age were employed. At least 35% of the project went to Small Micro-and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs): “The future looks bright if the past trend of Pholela’s matric performance is anything to go by because the 2020 Matric Class obtained a 90% pass rate. Now that the school has been renovated and refurbished, we expect the 2021 Pholela High School Matric Class to achieve nothing less than a 100% pass rate pass in 2021 and beyond,” said Premier Zikalala.

“We commend the teachers and learners for their dedication and discipline to overcome the obstacles that were stacked against them. Continue to do your job with diligence and determination,” said Premier Zikalala

Addressing the learners Minister of COGTA Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said education and skills were necessary to drive South Africa’s economic growth.

“The most important means of attaining equality is education, education and education. I'm very impressed that the provincial Education Department is not only focusing on building and refurbishing schools, but they are also focusing on skills that will improve the GDP of the country,” said Dr Dlamini-Zuma.

"You know for a long time after apartheid our economy grew and South Africa was number 1 in Africa. I remember I was Foreign Minister at the time and the UN picked countries that were going to make a financial impact globally. The countries they selected were Brazil, India, Russia and China. In Africa they selected only two countries, Egypt and Nigeria. I was taken aback and asked the panel why they had left South Africa out. We were number 1 after all. They told me that the main difference is that Nigeria and Egypt have the breadth and depth of skills that far surpass South Africa on the African continent. I reported this to Cabinet and the Cabinet members almost fell off their chairs with laughter, us being overtaken by Nigeria? Look at the situation now, Nigeria has overtaken us because they focus on skills over and above education. This science and ICT-based school will add to the countries competitiveness and make a us a global player in the future," said Dr Dlamini-Zuma.

MEC for Education Kwazi Mshengu said his mandate is to equalize education. “We realise it is not about parents sending learners to urban and well-resourced schools. We need to bring better quality education to rural and townships schools. That includes better-trained teachers and resources that are relevant for quality teaching and learning: There is an all-encompassing project to modernise teaching and learning we are giving all the principals, all 6000 of them tablets. Today we have 465 for the principals of Harry Gwala. All the principals will have tablets before the end of the year. We now will save documents on cloud, hold meetings online and be able to research the best ways of managing the school,” said MEC Mshengu.

Premier Zikalala called on the community to look after the property. “We call on the community to look after this property and to protect it from vandalization and theft. We hand this infrastructure over to this generation to use it, but also to look after it on behalf of future generations,” said Premier Zikalala.