WTF? A school in Cape Town has been STOLEN – ‘brick-by-brick’

[Nat Quinn]

We are lost for words. And then some. A school that closed down more than three years ago in Elsie’s River, Cape Town has been raided and ransacked by local opportunists to such a degree, that there is now NOTHING left at the former educational institution.

HOW TO STEAL AN ENTIRE SCHOOL – CAPE TOWN STYLE…

Uitzig Secondary School was blighted by a number of issues during its twilight years. It was often a target for vandals and thieves, and a high crime rate in the area made learning at this site a very tall order indeed. There were also several structural problems to report.

In 2019, students at the facility were relocated to other schools. The building was then left empty – and it didn’t take long for criminals and wide-boys to cash in on this ‘new business venture’. According to a report in the Daily Mail, the looted materials were then sold-on.

UITZIG SECONDARY SCHOOL ‘STOLEN’ AND ‘STRIPPED FOR PROFIT’

• A source claims that individual bricks were being sold for 50 cents each

• Windows would fetch about R100 per unit.

• Sinks, toilets, pipes, electrics and even CONCRETE FLOORS all went for various prices, too.

• Five classrooms, two toilet blocks, and a reception with a grand entrance were all taken away by crooks.

• The process of the theft was described as being done ‘brick-by-brick’, until there was nothing left to plunder.

The once-proud Uitzig school was completely stripped, as soon as it was closed – Photo: Supplied

CAPE TOWN AUTHORITIES LEFT ‘POWERLESS’ TO PREVENT CRIMINALITY

However, news of this stripped school is nothing new to locals. From the moment these doors closed, vandals were wise to the situation. Local authorities had plans to repurpose the site, but the constant threat from criminal quarters very much put a spanner in the works.

Bronagh Hammond, who served as the Western Cape Education Department’s spokesperson at the time, explained how efforts were made to prevent this blatant disregard for law on order. Alas, there was ‘very little’ security teams could do, once they were overwhelmed.

“The WCED had employed several security guards to assist in protecting the school, however, they were forced to take refuge when a mass of people stormed the building. This led to extensive damage of the school, and a [wide range of equipment] was removed” |

 

WTF? A school in Cape Town has been STOLEN – ‘brick-by-brick’ (thesouthafrican.com)

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