The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Free State said it will hold the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) accountable for its decision to temporarily close Glen Agricultural College until 18 April 2025.
The students recently showed their unhappiness about conditions at the college which included dirty basins, bathrooms, toilets and no electricity in laundry rooms to mention just a few. Including snakes killed at the institution which poses danger to the safety of the students
Werner Pretorius, the DA Member of the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Economic Development said a letter to the college indicated that the purpose of the closure is so that the college management can address the challenges of water and electricity at the hostels as well as other issues that have been raised by students.
“We call for full transparency on the steps being taken to resolve these issues and demand updates on the progress toward reopening the college.” Werner stated.
The DA has received complaints from students and parents about the alleged poor management practices at the college, including allegations of fraud and corruption, a lack of maintenance and upkeep of the residences, inadequate study materials, and a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), among other things.
Werner emphasized that his party has received damning evidence of the poor state of the facility despite the R6.29 million spent on upgrades recently.
“The DA has aired our concerns about the challenges at Glen in several committee meetings, through writing questions in the legislature and in January 2025, wrote to the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture to call on the Portfolio Committee to conduct oversight at the facility to assess the challenges firsthand.” Werner added.
The DA says the Department spends around R37 million a year on the facility, which should be an asset to the province, helping to stimulate the agricultural economy and promote new entrants into the market.
According to the party, during a meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts and Finance on Wednesday 19 March, when asked about the turnaround strategy for the college, the MEC for DARD, Miss Rockman, indicated that there is a significant management problem that needs to be urgently addressed and acknowledged that the perennial under expenditure of the revitalisation grant is unacceptable.
The MEC further indicated that the department will deal with these issues very decisively. The DA will hold the MEC accountable for the assertions made in the committee and will continue to monitor the situation at the college.
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