CSI 

West Rand Consolidated Primary

When other principals throw their hands in the air out of frustration and in desperation, Phindile Xakaza gets on the phone and calls Bosasa. “I feel like a spoilt brat sometimes. All the maintenance problems I encounter, I just ask the Bosasa Technical division. Whether it’s an electrical or sewer problem, they’ll come and fix it,” says the jovial Xakaza.

Bosasa is the main sponsor of West Rand Primary School, a role inherited from the previous holding company. But it was when group CEO Gavin Watson took charge that Xakaza found in him someone she could speak in her native isiXhosa, and calls him bhuti, the way she would refer to her brother. 

Maintenance is not the only assistance provided, but it is by far the most extensive, running into thousands of rands per annum.

The school dates back to the 1940s when it was built by the West Rand Consolidated Mines for its employees’ children. It went from being housed in a nearby church to some houses in the married quarters. It was finally and officially opened in February 1950.

Phindile Xakaza was herself a learner at the school in 1959 only to return to teach there in 1980 until she became principal in 1990. Xakasa was determined to turn the school into a success story and raised the number of learners from 40 to 160.

“If Bosasa was not there and we had to fend for ourselves, we would have had to close the school down. The water and electricity accounts, renovations and functions hosted by the school are some of the many requests for funding Bosasa have consistently met” she recalls.

“The parents of most children lost their jobs when the mine shut down its operations and many others who are brought in by bus every morning from surrounding areas like Munsieville can hardly afford school,” says Xakaza.

Children at West Rand Consolidated Primary School

West Rand Consolidated Primary