19 Sep 2017

The Assistant Minister of Basic Education Mr Moiseraele Goya has warned civil servants against paying for shoddy works and services.

Addressing a kgotla meeting  Middlepits recently , Mr Goya cautioned officers responsible for payments of projects and or services to desist from making paying for substandard projects and ensure that they “only pay after receiving  good and quality service.”

The assistant minister said  that some contractors had a tendency of doing shoddy jobs and  regardless of the poor service they end up  getting the full payment.

Mr Goya pointed out that “this is encouraged by the fact that most of the times, those who are supposed to supervise are never on site and end up coming at  the eleventh hour where upon they just authorize payments, regardless of the quality of the job done.”

The assistant minister’s comments came after the residents complained that the contractor who was given a tender to do some maintenance works at the junior school has left some heaps of rubble all over.

They complained that the rubble was a cause for concern as it could act as shelter for thieves, posing danger to students who normally have to attend evening studies and leave the school premises when it is already dark.

Furthermore they pointed out that during rainy season the entrance to the school is not accessible  because it becomes muddy all over the place, prompting students to walk bare footed to access the school premises while those driving do likewise as the conditions force them to leave their vehicles outside the school compound.

On other issues residents complained about civil servants who have stayed in the area for a long time without being transferred, arguing that such people end up not delivering desired results at all as in many instances they show signs of stress for being in one place for a long time.

Mr Goya said as a ministry they  were aware of those cases where civil servants especially teachers had overstayed in the district and assured residents that they were doing all they could to transfer people. Ends