The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in Gauteng has expressed anger and deep concern over electricity disconnections affecting schools in Ekurhuleni, blaming the crisis on the Gauteng Department of Education’s failure to settle municipal accounts.
In a strongly worded statement, the youth league said it is unacceptable that learners are forced to study in darkness because the department has allegedly not met its financial obligations to municipalities.
The ANCYL described schools as “constitutional instruments of transformation and development,” arguing that cutting electricity to learning institutions undermines the right to education and disrupts teaching and learning.
The organisation said the disconnections are a “damning indictment” of administrative and financial management within the provincial education department.
Crisis follows scholar transport turmoil
The youth league noted that the electricity crisis follows recent scholar transport challenges that left thousands of learners stranded and uncertain about access to education.
“Now learners face another indignity — being denied basic services in their schools because of the Department’s failure to honour its financial responsibilities,” the statement said.
The ANCYL questioned the department’s financial management, asking how an institution tasked with shaping the province’s future repeatedly finds itself at the centre of operational failures.
Calls for accountability and urgent action
The ANCYL has called on Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane to urgently account to the public and provide a clear, time-bound plan to settle all outstanding debts owed to the City of Ekurhuleni.
It further urged the department to convene an urgent meeting with the municipality’s finance leadership to resolve the dispute and prevent further disruptions.
The league also appealed to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to institute a comprehensive investigation into the financial management of the education department.
“Education is a fundamental right”
The ANCYL warned that repeated crises — from scholar transport failures to electricity cuts — point to systemic weaknesses that can no longer be ignored.
“The youth of Gauteng will not stand by while learners are subjected to instability and incompetence,” the statement said.
It emphasised that education is not an administrative afterthought but a fundamental right and a cornerstone of South Africa’s democratic development.
