IDT about to complete school for children with special needs

The Independent Development Trust will soon hand over a state-of-the-art school facility in Matatiele to the Eastern Cape Department of Education for the benefit of learners with special needs.

The IDT was appointed as an implementing agency for the Sive Special School project at R89.9-million, and construction is expected to reach practical completion in November 2017.

The Sive Special School caters for children with hearing impairment.  The Sive Special School is currently operational but learners are housed in an old facility while the contractor is completing the facility. Upon practical completion and handover, the learners will move to the new facilities.

The project has created job opportunities – both skilled and unskilled – for the local community to a total number of 98 females, 161 males, 260 youth and one disabled person.

The infrastructure built includes dormitory blocks to accommodate 96 beds, four house-mother flats, ablution facilities consisting of showers and bath tubs, aqua therapy facility, i.e. specially designed swimming pools for the leaners, a 180 seat multi-purpose hall, a kitchen and laundry facility, eight classrooms, staff rooms and offices.

The scope of work also included maintenance workshops with double lock up garages, parking area, roads as well as sewer, storm water and water facilities.

Two more special schools projects are being implemented by the IDT on behalf of the provincial department of education in the Eastern Cape – the R129.6 million Tembisa Special School project in Mthatha and the Khanyisa Special School project in Cala, which is worth R76.6-million – both of which are intended to benefit foundation phase learners with disabilities.

Construction has already commenced on both sites and it is estimated that these projects will be completed in 24 months to be occupied by a total of close to 500 learners.

The IDT is an entity of the National Department of Public Works that is mandated to support all spheres of government with social infrastructure management and programme implementation.

In the past five years the IDT supported 40 government departments including building 97 new schools and 36 new health facilities while renovating hundreds more and created more than 360 000 work opportunities in various communities through its implementation of social infrastructure programmes and the Expanded Public Works Programme.

More information from Lesego Mashigo, Tel: 012 845 2088 / Email: lesegoma@idt.org.za