– DA notes arrogance displayed by MEC Hlomuka amid DoE budget crisis
– DA want ‘ghost posts’ audited and ring-fenced budgets for infrastructure and service providers payments
Note to Editors: Please note Sakhile Mngadi, MPL sound bites in English and isiZulu
The DA in KwaZulu-Natal is deeply alarmed by the ongoing financial crisis engulfing KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) Department of Education (DoE).
Two issues in particular expose the devastating mismanagement that continues to define this department – the halting of critical infrastructure projects by the province’s Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) due to non-payment and, the looming threat of a salary payment crisis that could leave thousands of educators unpaid.
While the DA acknowledges that KZN’s 7th administration inherited these financial failures from the previous MEC, current Education MEC, Sipho Hlomuka’s arrogance and inaction in the face of collapse are indefensible.
Despite the gravity of the situation, MEC Hlomuka has demonstrated a lack of urgency and an unwillingness to take KZN’s Education portfolio committee into his confidence and disclose the entire picture. Nor has he shown the political will to pursue meaningful reform.
Instead, his department continues to recklessly spend more than 90% of its R66billion budget on salaries, leaving little to no room for school infrastructure, curriculum development, or learner support.
This is not just poor governance – it is a betrayal of every child who depends on our public education system to escape poverty. The DoE is not just cash-strapped, it is functionally bankrupt in terms of vision and leadership.
As part of KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) the DA proposes the following urgent reforms:
• Immediate restructuring of the DoE wage bill, including an audit of “ghost posts” and a freeze on non-critical appointments to ensure that funds are directed where they are most needed and;
• A dedicated infrastructure ring-fenced fund, managed with transparency and accountability, to ensure that service provider payments are made timeously and that vital school construction and maintenance projects are no longer halted.
The future of millions of children in KZN is being held hostage by political incompetence. The DA will no longer tolerate excuses – it is time for bold, honest leadership that puts learners first.