‘Desperate measures’: Residents take to streets after school is left in the dark
Roodepan residents protest after more than a month without electricity at Pescodia Primary School.
Image: Sandi Kwon Hoo
A LARGE crowd of Roodepan residents took to the streets this week to vent their frustration, as Pescodia Primary School has been without electricity for over a month.
Classes were suspended and roads in Roodepan were barricaded with burning tyres, bricks and branches.
Parents expressed concern over lost learning time, with pupils being dismissed early each day.
“The electricity has been unattended since it went off before Easter. It is a pity that we had to resort to desperate measures before any action was taken,” said one of the parents.
SAPS Northern Cape spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Sergio Kock said the Kimberley Public Order Policing unit and members of the Roodepan police responded to the protest in Eagle Street.
“On May 20 at approximately 8am, about 250 community members and parents of pupils at the school barricaded the street with rocks and burning tyres,” said Kock.
He added that roads were reopened to traffic at around 10.30am after the crowd dispersed peacefully.
Pescodia Primary School was closed this week due to protest action.
Image: Sandi Kwon Hoo
“The police will continue to monitor the situation,” said Kock.
Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe confirmed that schooling at Pescodia Primary was recently disrupted by concerned parents and community members.
He confirmed that the school had been without electricity, but stated that this was due to vandalism and the theft of the school's electrical cables.
“This has negatively impacted the quality of education and made it difficult for the school to fulfill its administrative duties,” said Van der Merwe.
“The school’s electrical cables were severely damaged due to vandalism and theft. As an interim solution, the department will provide a generator and diesel to the school while a tender process is initiated to restore the electricity supply.”
He added that a new fence would be erected around the school and security guards would be deployed until all repairs are completed.
“The school governing body and parents have welcomed the department’s commitment and they have indicated that normal learning and teaching resumed on Wednesday.
“The department appeals to the local community to protect our educational institutions from vandalism and theft. Our schools are part of the very communities they serve and it is deeply saddening when such acts of destruction prevent our children from accessing their education,” Van der Merwe concluded.