ANC gives land to developer instead of school

Opposition parties in Pietermaritzburg lambasted ANC councillors for opting to hand over a piece of land to a developer instead of a school.

Pietermaritzburg – Opposition parties in the KwaZulu-Natal capital city of Pietermaritzburg lambasted African National Congress (ANC) councillors for opting on Thursday to hand over a piece of land to a developer instead of a school.

The criticism followed a vote of the Msunduzi Local Municipality’s executive committee (exco), which decided that a piece of land that the Scottsville Primary School had requested for sporting facilities should be sold to a developer.

Apart from the land wanted by the school, the ANC-dominated exco also voted to put up a local bowling club for development.

Bill Lambert warned ANC members against the move of selling the property to investors.

“Education is very important and this school is the most representative when it comes to pupil attendance. We should not allow greed to take over something that will be useful to our communities for generations to come,” said Lambert.

He said the decision to vote in favour of selling the land to a developer violated the ANC’s own position on education.

NFP councillor Ntokozo Bhengu said other sites could be sold, but not the one which the school had expressed an interest in.

“My conscience does not allow me to approve the purchase of the property for business purposes when a school needs the land,” said Bhengu.

ANC councillor Thulani Xulu insisted that the move to sell the available land was in line with the city’s development agenda.

“It is an open secret that we want investors to come to the city so that jobs can be generated and the local economy can develop. That school has enough facilities anyway,” Xulu said.

African News Agency

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