When their copper pipes and fittings were stolen recently, Patensie Primary School was left without water in their toilets for at least three days, but thankfully with donations of new plastic pipes from the Gamtoos Irrigation Board, the school had water in their toilets again within a few days.
According to Glowill Felix, head of department and chairperson of the building and grounds committee at the school, Patensie Primary had fallen victim to theft on multiple occasions.
He said that in 2020 thieves stole the school’s copper pipes which affected the entire school and in September last year, the school’s outdoor LED lights were stolen.
He said that they had purchased new LED lights which they placed much higher in the hope that they would not be stolen again.
In yet another case of unfortunate events, last month the copper pipes and fittings were stolen, which left the bathrooms of the learners and teachers without water.
He said the school employed a caretaker, eight years ago, to look after the premises but since the caretaker did not work on weekends, the school was left vulnerable to thieves.
“Despite ensuring that the gates are always locked, and the school is secure, thieves gained access to the school by climbing over the wall of Patensie High School which is next door,” said Felix.
When the caretaker patrolled the school on Sunday morning, February 13, as he does on weekends when he does not work, he noticed that the copper pipes and fittings were stolen.
He said he reported the incident to the local police and they had visited scrap yards in the area in the hope that they could recover the stolen copper or find the thieves, but they were unsuccessful.
“While the water was off for at least three days, the caretaker filled buckets of water from the water tanks which he then used to fill the toilets every hour,” said Felix.
“As a result of the lack of water in the bathrooms, the school closed one hour earlier each day until the issue was resolved.”
Thankfully, with donations from the Gamtoos Irrigation Board which included labour and at least 80% of the material needed to replace the stolen pipes, the bathrooms had running water again within three days after the pipes and fittings were stolen.
“The Gamtoos Irrigation Board has always been very helpful,” said Felix.
He said last year the Kouga Local Municipality donated a water tank to the school while the Gamtoos Irrigation Board built a stand for the water tank and fitted a water pump which the school purchased.
On another occasion, the Gamtoos Irrigation Board also donated a water pump to the school.
He said that since the copper pipes posed a high risk of theft, they were in the process of phasing out the copper pipes and replacing them with plastic pipes.
“We are in the process of phasing out the copper pipes but since the process of replacing the pipes with plastic ones is expensive, we will only be buying new pipes if our copper pipes are stolen or are faulty and need to be replaced,” said Felix.
He said that the Senior Management Team would also meet soon to discuss purchasing cameras which will cost the school approximately R40 000 and will be included in the new financial year’s budget which will begin in April.
The cameras will be placed around the school’s building and will be used as an added security measure.
“We would like to appeal to the community to accept ownership of our school and to be on the lookout for unwanted elements on the school grounds over weekends,” said Felix.
“We can only protect and maintain the school’s structure with the help of the community. Let’s work together please.”
Rienette Colesky, CEO of the Gamtoos Irrigation Board, said that when they were informed about the recent theft of the copper pipes and fittings at the school, they were more than willing to assist.
“When the school calls with any issues, we are always willing to assist because it is important to keep the children in school,” said Colesky.
She said the Gamtoos Irrigation Board was very involved with the community as it was of utmost importance for them to build a relationship with people in the community.
Colesky said that they were therefore determined to help when there was a need to.
“We understand that there is not a lot of funds in the community so where there is a need, we help with pleasure,” said Colesky.
