The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape welcomes the arrest of those suspected of the criminal abuse of public funds, including a senior official in the Northern Cape Department of Education. She stands accused of corruption, fraud and money laundering for her alleged involvement in the appointment of a company for Covid-19 orientation and training. We trust our justice system will now take its course.
This department, which owed schools more than R181 million for essential education services in February 2025 and which was only planning to pay norms and standards funding owed for last year in August 2025, cannot afford to waste a single cent. With budget cuts a fiscal reality, the department must uphold financial discipline and ensure that its management is dedicated to spending public funds for public benefit instead of personal gain.
I requested that the department must be called to brief the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature’s portfolio committee on education on critical financial and human resource matters. We need insight into the department’s plans for advertising and filling vacant posts as well as its management of substitute educators, secondments, precautionary suspensions and the placement of bursary holders. We also need to be assured that schools have received all the necessary funds to provide quality education to learners, especially in rural communities where functional hostels and smooth learner transport operations are essential for academic success.
The greed of a few office bearers should not be allowed to derail the academic dreams of the many.