Tentergate 2 residents are overjoyed with the recent developments in their area that include the construction of a pre-school by a company that did work in the area, making it the second one in the village.
Port Elizabeth-based WGT Construction handed over a pre-school building as part of its corporate social responsibility on Tuesday, after they built 500 RDP houses in three villages in ward 32, on contract to the provincial human settlements department.
The construction company built 200 houses in Spring Grove where the crèche was built, 100 in Khayalethu where the old crèche was renovated and 200 in Khwezi villages located in Tentergate 2.
WGT Construction owner Willie Greeff -Trust said they had made it standard procedure for the business to leave a legacy after every contract they completed, especially in disadvantaged areas.
“This time around we developed the community by building a crèche in Spring Grove and fixing the one that existed in Khayalethu Village so it would be in a state to accommodate children. We were supposed to hand over the school in July, but could not due to the lockdown. However we thought to do it now before thugs broke into it. Everyone involved is happy with the work done in the villages and it will benefit many children in future.
Ward 32 ANC councillor Nkululeko Ngcefe indicated he had led the project by initiating community meetings that discussed the type of development residents wanted to see in their villages.
“At some stage we met with the company owner and they were happy with building a pre-school. We decided on a pre-school because the whole area depended on one pre-school which could not accommodate all the children. Some who managed to be accepted had to walk a long distance to reach it but that has been fixed now,” said the councillor
Ngcefe said both pre-schools would have to accommodate children living closer to them to eliminate the long walks.
He said the newly-built crèche had not been named yet and community members would meet this week to discuss matters related to the operation of the school.
“We will discuss how many people would work at the crèche, how many children it can accommodate and what it will be called.
“The hand over only happened now due to the Covid-19 related regulations which included the closure of schools to try and flatten the curve. It was supposed to become operative in July but we had to delay it.”
Resident Dan Plaatjie said having one crèche in the village was a problem because parents who lived far away could not take their children to school when the weather was bad because it was too far.
“The second crèche will open doors for children who could not attend school and also create job opportunities for a few people.”
He thanked WGT Construction and the ward councillor for the work done in the area.
