​Construction of new Rustervaal Secondary School is at advanced stages with new completion contractor
Alfred Nhlapo and Morati Sethabela
The significant progress registered in the construction of the new Rus-ter-vaal Secondary School project in Vereeniging, Sedibeng District Municipality, is good news for the underlying communities. This development follows the recent appointment of a new completion contractor after the Department of Infrastructure Development terminated the previous contractor for performance reasons. 
The timely completion of infrastructure projects is a top priority for government and the message has been communicated to all project teams by MEC Jacob Mamabolo. The project pipeline of the department has also gained traction following the launch of the Infrastructure Delivery Platform, an integrated project management dashboard that enables more effective monitoring and intervention in the case of challenges.
The Head of Department Ms Masabata Mutlaneng has been making unannounced visits to various project sites across the province, ensuring that contractors adhere to the service level agreements to enable speedy community access to public facilities.  
The new Rus-ter-vaal Secondary School contractor has since taken to site and proceeded with implementation of the completion works including the construction of the school hall and other ancillary facilities. 
The project scope involves the construction of a new brick-and-mortar education facility replacing an old asbestos school, and will entail facilities such as laboratories, sporting amenities, administration blocks, staff facilities, and others. The learners are currently accommodated in a different facility a few blocks from the new school project site.
The facility will be a fully integrated Smart facility that forms part of a technology rollout by the Gauteng Department of Education. The new school will accommodate 1,000 learners.
The project has also received full support from the community who are now actively involved in its implementation.