Johannesburg - Brazen thieves who broke into a new state-of-the-art primary school and made off with about 200 hi-tech tablets, laptop, desk computers and a television set have incurred the wrath of the African National Congress (ANC), which has called on the police to arrest the culprits and recover the equipment.
"The ANC Gauteng Province condemns in the strongest possible terms the callous acts of cowardice by criminals who, in the early hours of today, robbed the newly opened state-of-the-art Menzi Primary School in Tsakane, making off with valuable learning equipment (laptops, desktops, data projectors, digital video recorders etc)," said the party in a statement.
The break-in took place on Monday - just a week after the new East Rand township primary school was opened amid much fanfare.
"By robbing the school, the thugs have clearly declared war against society as a whole. We cannot allow a situation where our children’s right to access quality education is undermined by criminals," the ANC said.
"We call upon every member of the community especially in Tsakane and the neighbouring communities, to assist the law enforcement agencies with information that can lead to the apprehension of those that committed this crime.
"Menzi Primary School is one of the new generation of schools that the ANC-led government in Gauteng has been opening every month, with the aim of ensuring that our children have access to the best possible facilities."
The party said these type of modern high-tech schools were charting a new path in education, which was critical in redressing the apartheid legacy that bequeathed substandard education and learning facilities to black children.
"It is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that we jealously guard facilities such as Menzi Primary School. A lot of public funds have been invested in this asset so that our children have access to nothing but the best learning equipment and environment," said the ANC in a statement issued by Tasneem Motara, the head of communication and spokesperson for the provincial executive committee.
"We call upon law enforcement agencies to spare no effort in ensuring that perpetrators of this crime are speedily brought to book."