18 Sep 2013

The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has expressed dissatisfaction on the rationale used by the Ministry of Education and Skills Development for maintenance works in junior secondary schools.

During the ministry’s submission before the PAC on September 17 in Gaborone, permanent secretary, Ms Grace Muzila said due to financial constraints, they had been engaging brigades for maintenance of junior secondary schools during this financial year.

However, the committee was of the view that using brigades’ students for minor works was disempowering small local contractors and was not addressing problem of unemployment. Also they noted that there was no accountability as compared to when contractors were hired.

In response, Ms Muzila said brigades were only used as the solution for the current financial constraints facing the ministry and that the primary objective of engaging brigades’ lecturers and students was also contributing to education because learners used maintenance works as part of their practical.

She however stated the despite financial constraints, not all projects were done by brigades, but only a proportion of about 40 per cent of the jobs were given to brigades. She said the practice had been that schools were given P20 000 per school for minor maintenance works which in a way was empowering the local communities as they identified craftsmen within their communities.

Ms Muzila also informed the committee that the ministry had made strides in maintenance of junior secondary schools, despite cases of poor workmanship that keep surfacing. She further informed PAC that today, as compared to 10 years back, there was massive improvement in schools maintenance works, as out of the 207 junior secondary schools in the country, about 50 per cent of them were covered.

She acknowledged that there were unfortunate incidences where sometimes, when work has been scheduled for maintenance by the time the contractor arrive at the site more damage would have occurred.

“There is what we call measurement, where the team goes to the school and they check what needs to be maintained and document it and make specifications. If at the time when that measurement was done, some of things were not included in specifications, when the contractor is awarded the tender, that will not be part of the maintenance,” she said.

The performance audit report of the maintenance of the schools by the office of the Auditor General (AOG) observed that the facilities were in need of maintenance countrywide. The report indicated that some schools have not been maintained after decades of establishment, while some have not been maintained in 20 years.

Meanwhile PAC acknowledged the ministry’s submissions, but expressed displeasure that despite plausible reports by the ministry, on the ground it was terrible.

“It seems like you do not have the will, drive and commitment to implement the noble ideas your ministry has,” said MP for Selebi Phikwe West, Mr Gilson Saleshando. Ends