Mpumalanga spends R313k on mobile class and more than half that to scrap it

DA accuses department of wasting money

- By Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane

The Mpumalanga Department of Education is facing severe criticism over a financial equation that reveals the staggering cost for temporary structures, spending R313 901 to acquire a single prefabricated classroom and then more than half of that amount again, R181818, to demolish and dispose of it.

This calculation emerges from the department’s own plans to spend more than R32-million demolishing 176 condemned prefabricated classrooms across the province. These structures, originally installed as a temporary relief for overcrowding and to replace storm-damaged buildings, are now deemed unsafe and must be demolished at the taxpayer's expense.

According to the department's 2024/2025 annual report, the units - often called mobile classrooms - have been rated “poor to be disposed of” after failing safety and structural condition tests.