Cape Town - The DA used its majority in the Western Cape legislature to block the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) from discussing the province’s controversial unsafe schools construction saga.
Scopa was to be briefed on allegations of shoddy construction work at Scottsdene Senior Secondary in Kraaifontein, but the item was scrapped from the agenda after DA chief whip, Mark Wiley objected.
Teaching at Scottsdene High was disrupted last month when engineers identified possible structural problems, effectively shutting the schools doors and leaving over 1 200 children stranded. Concerned Kraaifontein and Hawston residents laid a complaint with the public protector against the Western Cape government’s failure to relocate pupils left stranded after their schools were declared structurally unsafe due to alleged shoddy construction work.
Intervening at the eleventh hour, Wiley put a motion on the table that the matter be referred to the relevant standing committee for public works.
Adding that Scopa did not follow due process, he explained that normally the standing committees dealt with the “nuts and bolts” issues. However, if they did come across something that was of relevance to Scopa, they would refer it to them.
“Scopa cannot be a fire brigade for the so-called perceived inaction of other committees,” Wiley told the committee.
ANC MPL Carol Beerwinkel objected to the Wiley’s last-minute interference, saying he had enough time to raise his concerns as the matter had been on Scopa’s agenda for a week.
“No other standing committee or department saw the crisis in this matter, we at Scopa did. The intention was not to tear the departments apart; we just wanted to hear from them what was going on. There are 1 200 children who can’t go to school, because their school building has been condemned and we wanted to know the reasons why,” she said.
She said the manner in which Wiley went about removing the issue from the agenda left much to be desired.
“He comes to the committee meeting to embarrass the chair, while his own members earlier agreed that the topic should be discussed,” she said.
In an unusual occurrence, the ACDP voted with the ANC against the school construction saga being scrapped from the agenda.
Scopa’s ACDP chairman, Ferlon Christians said he was disappointed that the issue had been scrapped.
“The DA used its majority to scrap the issue.
“I stood my ground because I thought it was of public importance. I would have appreciated it if they had informed the committee earlier,” Christians said.
EFF MPL Bernard Josephs, an alternate member in Scopa, said it showed that the DA was not serious about addressing certain issues affecting poor communities.
“Children are not being educated and this leads to other social ills,” Josephs added.
The public protector has already launched a preliminary investigation into the Scottsdene school’s construction woes.
Cape Argus