The DA calls for KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Education (DoE) to be placed under immediate provincial administration.
The call comes after an explosive Scopa meeting, held yesterday, which revealed that the department is refusing to pay the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for its services while also suing the Auditor-General (AG).
The DoE’s actions are shocking and unprecedented. They are also an indication of the lengths that MEC Mbali Frazer and her officials will go to in order to save their own skins. There are amicable ways to settle intergovernmental conflicts.
The AG is also on record in the meeting as saying that the DoE was not entirely truthful under oath on the NSNP matter – to SCOPA. The DoE’s response – that the AG did not report to them in writing regarding their NSNP queries – smacks of the lying and thieving that takes place within this department.
The Scopa meeting also revealed;
• Excessive over-expenditure, with 88% of the DoE budget spent on Compensation of Employees which is its wage bill
• A R532million outstanding staff debt that remains far from resolution
• The DoE’s failure to remedy the ferry boats issue, despite earlier assurances
• R120million in PACINA invoices for last years feeding scheme debacle, with R48million still under dispute and;
• Ongoing mismanagement of school funds and other legal matters with weak-kneed consequences for corrupt officials.
That MEC Frazer snubbed this critical meeting shows that her department – and ultimately our children’s schools – are not a priority for her. This as KZN’s DoE deteriorates and decays daily. This was a virtual meeting so there is no excuse for failing to attend. What was more important than the Scopa meeting remains to be seen.
Despite the MECs lack of interest and feckless stewardship, KZN’s Taliban faction ANC government continues to reward her – placing her high on its election list instead of firing her.
KZN’s learners must be placed first and the DoE placed under provincial administration. The MEC must also be immediately removed and any prospect of ever occupying such a critical post again must not be entertained.
When the people of KZN go the polls in 29 May, they will have the opportunity to rescue our province from the likes of MEC Frazer and her cronies and install a new government – one that is committed to quality education.