PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday the government still needs to build around 2500 schools around the country.
Ramaphosa delivered his sixth State of the Nation Address at Cape Town’s City Hall on Thursday evening.
“We still need to build around 2500 schools in our country. It will probably take us 75 years with current
mechanisms. Additionally, the damage caused by the theft of metal on our railway and electricity
infrastructure is enormous,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the government must ensure that platforms like school governing bodies are active and inclusive.
“We must work together to ensure that platforms like schools governing bodies and community policing forums are more active and inclusive,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa ensured the public that learners and students around the country will get quality education.
“As we return to normal educational activity, we will work harder to ensure that all learners and
students get the quality education they need and deserve. For the last two years, the education of our
children and young people has been severely disrupted,” he said.
The president said the government is introducing an innovative social infrastructure delivery mechanism
to address issues that afflict the delivery of school infrastructure.
“The mechanism will address the speed, financing and funding, quality of delivery, mass employment
and maintenance. The new delivery mechanism will introduce a Special Purpose Vehicle, working with
prominent DFIs and the private sector, to deliver school education infrastructure. This approach is being
piloted in schools in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape,” Ramaphosa said.
The President further added that, “this includes the development of a Hydrogen Society Roadmap for
the next ten years as well as a Green Hydrogen Strategy for the Northern Cape, supporting the development of a green hydrogen pipeline worth around R270 billion. The damage caused by the theft
of scrap metal and cable on our infrastructures like electricity, trains and other vital services is
enormous. We will take decisive steps this year both through improved law enforcement and by
considering further measures to address the sale or export of such scrap metal.”
- -Inside Education
