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Donderdag 26 Junie 2025
School slowly drowning in a sea of wastewater
Still stuck in a quagmire MARTI WILL
The Unitas Secondary School in Welkom has been continually flooded with raw sewage for the past four years. The situation is so bad that the school buildings are starting to crack and deteriorate. The school’s basement is flooded with more than 80 000 litres of wastewater. “It looks like a sewage swimming pool under the school,” says Leon Young, maintenance manager for the school. The situation also extends beyond the basement. Learners have to navigate the flowing sewage to move between classrooms. The school’s sports fields are unusable and the school hall cannot be used for anything, especially not the writing of examinations. There is wastewater under the floor of the hall and under the stage. “On a daily basis I speak to the municipal manager, the mayoral committee, and the director but our pleas fall on deaf ears,” says Young. “All remedial actions are short lived and never followed up on.” George Motja, principal of the school, says the situation causes a serious threat to the health of the learners and teachers alike.
More than 80 000 litres of wastewater has flooded the basement of the Unitas Secondary School in Welkom. The school still awaits a solution. Photos: Supplied
Severe structural damage has been caused by the stagnant sewage flooding the school’s foundations. If help does not arrive soon, it will only worsen.
Countless important people on national, provincial and local level have graced the school to “investigate” the problem over the years, but nothing has been done, he says. “They have offered solutions and plans, but nothing has ever come of it,” says Motja. The municipality once put two pumps around the school. These apparently only worked for two weeks and then this ‘solu-
tion’ was also stopped. Motja says last year John Steenhuizen and other top government officials came to the school to assess the situation. The solution they offered lasted about a week. The situation was so bad at one stage the school had to close for two weeks. Learners are losing valuable school time, but no-one seems to care.
George Motja, principal of the Unitas Secondary School, indicates the structural damage. The school is built on pylons and is now sinking due to the stagnant, flooding sewage. They had to drill a hole through to the foundations to relieve pressure.
Teenage fire survivor remains in ICU, family asks for help MARTI WILL The young girl who was critically injured in a devastating fire incident when she was doused with a flammable liquid on Wednesday, 18 June, and then set alight, is currently in a stable, but serious condition in the Mediclinic Welkom. The teeanage girl remains in ICU, is heavily sedated and on a ventilator, receiving critical care. She is under constant medical supervision. This tragic situation follows a horrific incident in which an adult woman passed away.
Francois Klaassen of the Welkom fire brigade confirms the fire was at Villa Gino’s flats in Milner Road on Wednesday, 18 June, in the late afternoon. “Upon arrival on the scene, it was brought under the attention of the crew that there was a person in flat 2 who was fully engulfed with flames. “A teenager that was also in the flat was treated by the ambulance services and transported to the hospital. When the flames were under control they proceeded with search and rescue
and found the body of a person inside,” says Klaassen. Capt. Loraine Earle, spokesperson for the Free State police, confirms the incident in which the woman died, and the young girl was severely injured. “The identities of both the deceased and the injured cannot be released in order to protect the identity of the teenage victim”, says Earle. According to a family spokesperson the family is facing mounting medical expenses as the hospital account continues to rise.
They are reaching out to the community for financial assistance to help ease the burden during this incredibly difficult time. If you would like to contribute towards her medical costs, any donation - no matter the amount - will be deeply appreciated. Donors are welcome to contact St Dominic’s College in Welkom. “Let’s continue to keep her in our thoughts and prayers and support this family in any way we can,” says the family spokesperson.
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