Orange Farm library doors remain closed a year after handover

TimesLIVE

4 days ago

The handing over of a library to Orange Farm residents five days before elections last year was a political stunt by the Gauteng government aimed at swaying their votes because the multimillion rand facility is still not open to the public more than a year later.
This is the view of the DA in Gauteng and some Orange Farm residents who have cried foul over the suspiciously timed handover of the R13.7m 'state-of-the-art' library just days before the general elections in May last year.
'If you look at the timing of the opening, it looks like it was political. They wanted us to vote for them [ANC]; it was a campaign of some sort. You never know,' said a resident who asked to remain anonymous.
Despite the fanfare during the handover, the library in Drieziek remains quiet, its doors locked with dust piling on the windows. Outside, the grounds are showing signs of neglect, with the newly planted grass beginning to wither under the sun.
The facility, which took nearly a decade to complete, was ceremoniously handed over by then Gauteng sport, arts, culture and recreation MEC Morakane Mosupyoe, five days before the polls. But according to the department, the City of Johannesburg was not ready to take over or operate the facility.
The answer to a question by the DA's Kingsol Chabalala in the legislature last week shows more than R3m was also paid to 10 security companies to guard the facility during construction.