Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile said that heads will roll as criminal cases will be opened against those implicated in alleged corruption at public schools.
On Sunday, Maile revealed that an internal assessment had identified 41 cases of alleged corruption, fraud, financial mismanagement, procurement irregularities and governance failures between 2023 and June this year.
The cases implicate principals, school governing body members, finance officers, educators and administrative staff, among others.
Maile said that the department will move swiftly to ensure those implicated face both disciplinary action and criminal investigation.
“Definitely, we will be opening cases, and those people who are implicated will have to be arrested, there’s no doubt about it. We will immediately instruct our district directors and relevant officials to open the cases.”
Under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, suspected corruption involving more than R100,000 must be referred to the Hawks for criminal investigation.
DENYING LEARNERS BASICS
The Department of Gauteng Education said that corruption in some public schools is denying learners basics, including food, textbooks and furniture.
An internal assessment has revealed allegations of theft involving school nutrition groceries, stationery, building materials and other essentials.
The assessment found that some schools may have been operating hidden financial streams by failing to declare money received from venue hire, donations and other sources.
The department said that every rand received by a school must be properly recorded and audited.
It said that the theft of school resources has a direct impact on learners, particularly those who rely on the national school nutrition programme.
Maile elaborated, “Groceries meant for the national school nutrition program, which benefits 1.6 million learners, are allegedly stolen. This theft and misappropriation are not victimless, as the consequences are immediate.”
Mongezi Koko
www.ewn.co.za
