During her interaction with the management and school governing body of Kranenburg Multi-Grade farm school 12 months ago, the mayor of Musina, Cllr Mihloti Muhlope learnt that the school has a serious shortage of classrooms and ablution facilities.
She did not take the matter lightly and approached various stakeholders to assist the school. Fortunately, a mining company, Coal of Africa Limited, responded positively and offered to build three classes and ablution facilities for the farm school.
Last week, the jubilant Muhlope visited the school to inspect progress at the construction site. "Public-private partnerships are very important to the development of our society. As government, we should have a very good working relationship with our partners to ensure community development. Our government has done a lot to improve the lives of our people, but we acknowledge that there is still much to be done. It is only through the good working relationship with our partners that we can close the gap of service delivery," said Muhlope.
She said she had nearly cried last year when she had visited the school. "The teachers and learners were very committed, but there was a very big shortage of classes. The other block is an old shop that was provided by a kind-hearted local farmer. I am happy that the children will soon have a decent shelter and ablution facilities. I have no doubt that this will encourage them to work hard and attain good results at the end of the academic year."
The managing director of Mikano Construction, who are building the classes and ablution facilities, Mr Jeffrey Neluheni, said they hoped to complete the project at the end of February. "We know that the school has a serious shortage of shelter and we will make sure that we meet the completion deadline. We have been on site for only 10 days and there is nothing that can stop us from fulfilling our duties on time. We are pleased that the plan has also taken into consideration the needs of the disabled. Of the eight toilets that are part of the ablution facilities, two are tailor-made for the disabled."
School principal Maggie Mariba thanked the mayor, the donors and contractors. "We do not have enough words to say thank you. We will display our gratitude by producing excellent results at the end of the year."