In one instance, a school had been open for a full year before a formal opening ceremony was held. And at least two schools were declared “open” even though construction had not been completed.
By scheduling ceremonial openings to take place week after week, the department had created the misleading impression that it was opening a new school a week. In reality, many schools promised by Zuma in the Eastern Cape had failed to materialise. At face value, Zuma’s claim would also seem to suggest that 52 schools were opened in the Eastern Cape last year. But that is not the case. The campaign only got off the ground more than halfway through the year. And an official schedule published at the time indicated that 19 schools would be “handed over” by November.
So, your president’s claim that his government opened “at least one new school a week in the Eastern Cape” in 2013 is in fact one fat porky. How many others are there?
