Gauteng Education MEC fights to keep lights on at schools amid disconnections

Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane has urged the municipalities in the province to stop cutting off electricity in schools as it interrupts the teaching and learning process.

This follows after some schools power was disconnected recently. Some of these concerns were raised recently during a School Safety Imbizo hosted by Chiloane in Heidelberg. The imbizo was aimed at addressing the issues facing local schools in the province. Bullying, gangsterism and vandalism were among the pressing issues discussed during the imbizo.

Many schools in the province have been experiencing power disconnections due to non-payment of electricity bills.

The City of Ekurhuleni recently switched off power to several schools because it was owed millions of rand in unpaid bills.  Some parents have pulled their children from schools, saying learning has stopped without electricity.

The affected schools include Zimisele, Nkabinde, Muzomsha, Zamani, Ntokozweni and Tlakula.

According to a report by The Citizen, the department owes R50 million for Section 20 schools in Ekurhuleni. The municipality’s spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said that the disconnected schools will remain off until the department pays the outstanding debt, and they reject the department’s request for more time to pay its outstanding debt to the city.

Meanwhile, MEC Chiloane told the media during the imbizo that they are working with all mayors and city municipal managers to address the issue of power disconnections in schools.

“The department has made arrangements with the municipalities and came up with a payment plan for unpaid electricity bills,” said Chiloane.

The department’s spokesperson Steve Mabona told IOL that the matter has been resolved, and the power supply will be restored to all affected schools. However, Mabona did not provide a timeline for the restoration of power to the affected schools and did not specify the action plan that has been implemented to address this matter.

The Julius Sebolai Primary School in Soweto is also one of the schools that have been disconnected due to non-payment.

ActionSA member Themba Mabunda revealed that the school has been experiencing power disconnections for almost two months.  

According to the party, the school was forced to spend R8,000 every two days to keep the lights on at the school and this has placed significant strain on the school’s budget. The school had to operate on expensive diesel generators.

“The school started experiencing the power disconnection in September last year and the department only restored the power supply after we released a statement in January calling for an action plan to address this matter,” said Mabunda.

It remains unclear what financial challenges are hindering schools from paying their electricity bills. In 2024, schools owed municipalities over R262 million for services rendered, prompting Premier Panyaza Lesufi to urge municipalities to cut services to schools in debt.

The parents and stakeholders in the imbizo also expressed concerns to the MEC about the challenges facing the schools and these issues includes, poor sanitation facilities, the rise of bullying, the presence of armed gangs and initiation of school-related gangsterism which have been causing disruptions in multiple schools.

Stakeholders raised concerns about mugging incidents targetting learners travelling to and from school and the ongoing threats of recurring burglaries, vandalism, and theft of school resources that have created a climate of fear and insecurity in these schools.

Chiloane assured the schools that the department would implement measures to improve school safety. This includes urgent interventions to strengthen security systems and collaborate with law enforcement to curb criminal activities affecting learning environments.

IOL

Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.