WATCH | Gauteng school project overruns cost by R16m

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has chastised the community of Rust-Ter-Vaal, who went to his office demanding that a contractor of their choice be appointed to build a school only to abandon the project halfway, which resulted in costs ballooning by R16m.

The Rust-Ter-Vaal Secondary School project started in 2016 but was only completed at the end of 2025.

“Sixteen-million has gone to waste, and this is the same community that says I must build a stadium,” said Lesufi on Wednesday at the opening of the school.

“If you didn’t come to my office to demand that a contractor of your choice be appointed, who knows? That R16m would have gone to finish the stadium.

“I’m saying to you communities, sometimes we get easily excited at the price of our own children. Sometimes we do things that, in that moment, you think are correct, but in the future, they harm our children.”

Communities often sacrifice their children’s futures for money, derailing any progress with infrastructure, Lesufi added.

You have no idea how in pain we are because of what we want to do for communities, and the communities always work against us and do the opposite.

—  Panyaza Lesufi, Gauteng premier

He was flanked by MEC for education Matome Chiloane as well as cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Jacob Mamabolo in Vereeniging for the opening of the school.

Addressing the community in the school hall on Wednesday, Lesufi said the community had derailed the completion of the school by wanting their own selected contractor to be appointed.

“You have no idea how in pain we are because of what we want to do for communities, and the communities always work against us and do the opposite.

“The advertisement for the contract of the school went out and the community came directly to my office wanting me to change the details on the advertisement.”

He said the community wanted their own contractor to build the school.

“I asked the contractor, ‘why can’t you just submit this application?’ They said, ‘No, no, no. This advertisement does not suit the person we want building the school.’”

It means we subjected our children to eight years of asbestos because those that didn’t want to go to school to study felt that they should also disrupt the study of others.”

—  Lesufi

The community returned multiple times to his office, he said.

“We advertised a new contract, and the contractor [that the community wanted] was appointed. Halfway, that contractor failed to finish the school. This should be a lesson for you.”

Lesufi said the school was supposed to cost R80m to build but ended up costing the province R96m.

He added that the children would have been moved from the old school much earlier but were delayed by the community’s greed.

“These children that are coming here were studying under asbestos ... Those that know the dangers of asbestos will know. It took us eight years to build this school. It means we subjected our children to eight years of asbestos because those that didn’t want to go to school to study felt that they should also disrupt the study of others.”

Lesufi said the community needs to take care of the school that was handed over to them.