The fire damage at JA Calata Senior Secondary School in Nxuba has exposed the devastating consequences of abandoned and underfunded school infrastructure projects in the Eastern Cape.
According to reports brought to the attention of DA councillors today, the school was ravaged by fire following alleged arson attacks after contractors reportedly abandoned the site due to non-payment by the Eastern Cape Department of Education.
Once work stopped and the site was left unsecured, the unfinished infrastructure became vulnerable to vandalism, theft, and ultimately destruction, while learners were displaced and additional pressure was placed on neighbouring schools forced to absorb the overflow.
The Democratic Alliance will write to the Chairperson of the Provincial Education Portfolio Committee requesting a full report on the circumstances surrounding the abandonment of the JA Calata project, the alleged non-payment of contractors, security failures at the site, and the growing number of stalled infrastructure projects across the province.
The destruction at JA Calata cannot be dismissed as an isolated incident. It reflects a broader infrastructure crisis within the Department of Education.
In response to parliamentary questions from the DA, the Department confirmed that 138 infrastructure projects identified for the 2025/26 financial year were reduced to just 86 projects due to budget constraints, while 52 projects were deferred to future years.
The Department further confirmed that only six projects have been completed during the current financial year, while 35 remain under construction and 22 projects have been suspended or terminated.
Even more alarming is the Department’s admission that R154 million has already been spent on terminated projects across the province.
Download response here.
Parliamentary replies also revealed that not a single new brick-and-mortar school has been constructed in the Eastern Cape over the past five years.
These failures have real consequences for learners. Schools remain overcrowded, projects stand abandoned for years, communities are left with incomplete infrastructure, and public assets become vulnerable to vandalism and destruction.
The Department must account for how many other school projects are currently exposed to similar risks, what security measures are in place at abandoned construction sites, and how many learners continue to be affected by stalled infrastructure delivery.
Learners in the Eastern Cape deserve safe schools, functional classrooms, and a government capable of completing infrastructure projects instead of leaving them to collapse into ruin.