A long-overdue R168 million school construction project meant to serve visually impaired learners in Limpopo has ground to a halt, leaving vulnerable students in dilapidated and unsafe conditions.
The Rivoni School for the Blind, one of just six schools in the province catering to blind children, was set to be completed by June 2024. The new facility promised modern classrooms, a hostel, dining hall, kitchen, staff housing, and other critical infrastructure for approximately 170 learners.
But construction has stalled since late 2024 after the initial contractor, Clear Choice Builders, was placed under business rescue proceedings despite reportedly completing 90% of the project. Workers say they have not been paid since May 2024, and the site now sits abandoned, with reports of looting and vandalism. Materials such as cement and roofing sheets have been stolen, with some even used to build private homes nearby.
A new subcontractor was appointed in May 2025 by the Independent Development Trust (IDT), the project’s implementing agency, with a revised completion date of December 10, 2025. However, a recent visit revealed no workers on site, a broken perimeter fence, and no visible activity.
Questions are also being raised about financial transparency. IDT spokesperson Phasha Makgolane declined to disclose how much of the budget had been spent or whether any audits had been conducted, saying only that audits occur “occasionally.”
Meanwhile, learners continue to study in run-down prefabricated structures with mobile toilets, despite the school maintaining a 100% matric pass rate in recent years. Parents, teachers, and community leaders are growing increasingly frustrated.
Project steering committee chairperson Vicky Muvhali said that a list of unpaid wages was submitted to the IDT months ago but no payments have been made. “People are suffering, and the learners are being punished the most,” he said.
The Limpopo Department of Basic Education referred all questions back to the IDT.
The delay has fueled public concern over project mismanagement, lack of accountability, and the broader neglect of children with special needs in South Africa’s education system.
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