15 May 2019

It might be a while before a major maintenance and construction of additional classrooms planned for Sese Primary School take off.

Addressing a kgotla meeting at Sese on May 14, Southern District Council chairperson Mr Alec Seametso said this was because one of the bidders had approached the courts indicating that the tender was allocated unprocedurally.

Mr Seametso said so far, the complainant had won an urgent court application to have the project halted until the case was resolved.

He said that because the project was a sensitive one that concerned children, the council was eager to have it completed, especially before the winter season, but it looked highly unlikely.

He said because of the urgency of the matter, the council was currently in negotiations with the complainant to settle the matter out of court, a process he said if agreed upon, would allow the project to start soon.

He, however, indicated that should they fail to reach a consensus, the council would put up pre-fabricated structures while awaiting the case to be resolved.

“The problem with the courts of law is that you cannot put a time frame as to when a court case could be resolved.

It might drag on for years while our children are suffering, so an out of court settlement is the fastest way to go, failing which construction of pre-fabricated structures is the next best option,” he said.

Mr Seametso indicated that the project was allocated P4.7 million, P200 000 of which had already been released to the company that was awarded the tender for mobilisation before the court case issue arose.

He said that Sese Primary School was one of the few that had been given priority by the council looking at the dire situation, which even raised health concerns.

Sese Primary School currently has an enrolment of 908 against the capacity of 880, which is the maximum a primary school should carry, according to authorities.

Concerning the delay in the tarring of the four kilometre access road that connects Sese to the Kanye-Jwaneng road, Mr Seametso said that government was as equally concerned as residents, saying that if it was within its powers, the contract would have long been terminated.

“The challenge is that the road is being funded by the World Bank, which takes the powers off government’s hands, but there is no doubt that the performance of the company is wanting,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his welcome remarks, Kgosi Justice Motlhalane pleaded for a quick solution at the primary school to alleviate the congestion.

He also raised a concern on the shortage of accommodation for police offers stationed at Sese, which he said now forced them to commute from Jwaneng.

Kgosi Motlhalane also appealed for a speedy solution to the delay in the completion of the access road, which he said had been under construction since 2014.

He also raised a concern on the vacancy of an office cleaner at the kgotla, which he said was taking long to be filled although interviews were long conducted, which issue Mr Seametso promised to follow up. ENDS