As part of a drive by the Eastern Cape government to upgrade rural schools from mud to solid structures and provide water, sanitation and electricity, consulting engineering firm GIBB has provided electricity to 49 schools.

The company was enlisted by Eskom to provide contract project management and clerk of works services for the project. The initiative, which commenced in 2011, is one of several projects that GIBB has worked on, in recent years.

According to GIBB project manager for power and energy Iain Harcombe, what set the 49 schools apart from other schools is that they were converted from scratch. The other schools were acceptable existing structures that did not need to be completely rebuilt.

He commented that the terrain provided the greatest challenge for contractors when constructing the power lines. “Much of the land is rocky and mountainous. When it rains, the mudslides render the roads unusable and we have had to grade them to continue working.”

The conversion of another 50 mud schools in the Eastern Cape has commenced. Harcombe said that the company has been enlisted to build six schools from scratch, providing structural, electrical and civil engineering services for the schools.

Harcombe explained that there was a basic need to replace inappropriate structures at the six schools with new buildings. Some of the mega schools will also be provided with a school hall.