Improved Education and Health Facilities in Atlantis

Improved education and health facilities commissioned by the Department of Transport and Public Works will enhance the quality of life of the residents of Atlantis and surrounds.

Certain structures at Parkview Primary and Wesfleur Primary School were demolished and replaced at a cost of R30 million and R33 million respectively. Construction at both sites started in December 2014 and reached practical completion in October 2015.

The upgrades were built as part of the national Department of Basic Education’s Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) programme. Most of the new buildings comprise a framed concrete structure with a mixture of face brick and painted infill walls.

The improved schools will be able to accommodate 1 250 learners each, including 120 Grade R learners at Parkview and 180 Grade R learners at Wesfleur. New facilities include four Grade R classrooms at Parkview and six at Wesfleur, with enclosed playing areas and facilities. Both schools have 10 junior phase classrooms, 10 intermediate phase and eight senior phase classrooms.

The schools now have media centres, music rooms, art rooms and handwork rooms. There are separate junior, intermediate and senior sections with their own courtyards and seating. The intermediate and senior blocks have two levels. Each school complex has an administrative building, a hall and sports field, a kitchen, a garden store and caretaker’s facilities.

Charles Wentzel, outgoing principal of Wesfleur Primary, has retired after 18 years of service. It was always his dream to see a better learning environment. “Although I was principal of the new school for only a few for months, I am completely overjoyed that the learners have access to modern, state-of-the-art facilities,” he said.

“Previously, we only had two classes for our Grade R learners and we had to divide the school hall to accommodate the demand,” said Waldimar Kastoor, principal of Parkview Primary. “Now we have six Grade R classes which will enable us to improve our foundation phase teaching.”

New temporary emergency centre

The Department also commissioned the construction of a new temporary emergency centre at the Wesfleur Hospital in Atlantis between February and October 2015 at a cost of R21 million.

The centre boasts paediatric and adult consulting and triage rooms, as well as a resuscitation and emergency treatment area. Other treatment areas include observation, nebulisation, baby rehydration and fracture rooms. Provision has been made for forensics and for psychiatric cases. There is also an off-loading area for ambulances, and easy access to a helipad.

Even though the structure is temporary, it has been built to fit it with existing hospital buildings, with similar steel columns and a matching roof. The exterior comprises plastered and painted brick infill panels, and the interior is a combination of painted dry-walls and bricks. The waiting rooms are fitted with sheet vinyl flooring and the wet areas with porcelain tiles.

A number of jobs were created, including Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) opportunities for 20 men and one woman. A total of R6 million was spent on the project within the local Atlantis community, with R1,4 million being spent on local labour and R4,5 million on local black sub-contractors.