On Tuesday, 23 April 2024, the Coega Development Corporation (Coega) joined the Eastern Cape Premier, Honourable Oscar Lubabalo Mabuyane, and the Executive Mayor of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Her Worship, Princess Faku, for the official handover of the R70 million Sophatisana Senior Secondary School (SSS) in Reeston, in the Eastern Cape Province.<\/p>\n
Sophatisana SSS, located in East London, falls under the Eastern Cape Province Department\u2019s School Building Programme, and underscores Coega\u2019s commitment to deepen state capacity in infrastructure development and advancing educational infrastructure within the Eastern Cape and beyond.<\/p>\n
The Eastern Cape Premier, Honourable Oscar Lubabalo Mabuyane, described the occasion as one of great significance for the community: \u201c\u201cThis state-of-the-art institution stands as a beacon of our commitment to education and a testament to our strides as a province in nurturing young minds and fostering an environment conducive to learning and development. This school is not just a building but a promise to our children and future generations\u2014a promise of access to quality education and endless possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coega serves as a Trusted Implementing Agent (IA) of Choice on an assortment of school infrastructure development projects, including new schools, improvements, and additions to existing schools, as well as repairs and renovations to various schools in line with its vision of being a leading catalyst for the championing of socio-economic development, in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 4, the National Development Plan Vision 2030 and the National Infrastructure Plan 2050.<\/p>\n
The completed project encompasses a comprehensive array of facilities, including an administration block, staff ablution facilities, 25 classrooms, and specialist classrooms including three multipurpose centres and a science laboratory. In addition, the project comprised a safe room, staff room, sick room, paving, security fencing, new furniture, and 11 temporary mobile classrooms.<\/p>\n
Coega Project Manager for the Department of Education Portfolio, Mr. Siyabulela Ntanta shared Coega’s role as IA on infrastructure projects: \u201cAs an Implementing Agent of Choice, Coega understands that these projects have a profound impact on the socio- economic development of communities. Through construction, jobs are created, and once the project is handed over, communities are uplifted. Education is the key to employability, and enabling infrastructure improves the quality of education.\u201d<\/p>\n
In terms of socio-economic impact and job creation, 17 small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) participated in the Sophatisana SSS Project, with a total SMME procurement spend of R15,8m. Close to 70 work opportunities for both skilled and semi- skilled workers were provided by virtue of the project, as well as various training opportunities.<\/p>\n
The opening of Sophatisana SSS marks a significant milestone in Coega\u2019s ongoing collaboration with the Eastern Cape Department of Education. By providing state-of-the- art educational facilities, Coega continues to play a pivotal role in driving socio-economic development and building a more prosperous future for South Africa, enriching the lives of learners, and contributing to the broader landscape of access to quality education. In so doing, governance and accountability is important.<\/p>\n
The Auditor-General of South Africa issued a \u201cclean audit\u201d to Coega for the last four (4) consecutive years, demonstrating good governance, compliance, and strong leadership in supply chain management. In 2020, Coega was identified in the South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) as one of the IA’s to be designated for certain key national projects and to further strengthen state capacity for infrastructure expansion, nationally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Tuesday, 23 April 2024, the Coega Development Corporation (Coega) joined the Eastern Cape Premier, Honourable Oscar Lubabalo Mabuyane, and the Executive Mayor of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Her Worship, Princess Faku, for the official handover of the R70 million Sophatisana Senior Secondary School (SSS) in Reeston, in the Eastern Cape Province. Sophatisana SSS, located […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[540],"tags":[546],"class_list":["post-5638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business-news","tag-coega","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5639,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5638\/revisions\/5639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mype.co.za\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}