ANC kindergarten, Cosas, has taken aim at basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube, fingering her for allegedly prioritising DA’s political mandate ahead of a state-led functional education department.
The organisation representing learners’ rights in the basic education space believes that Gwarube’s delayed release of the R1.6bn worth National Textbook catalogue for grade 1-3 for 2027 smacks of a political agenda to render the department dysfunctional.
In their view, the move is meant to private public education for the benefit of DA funders.
Allegations of corporate favoritism
“We know that the actual reason behind delaying the Foundation phase catalogue rests entirely on selling the future of learners in South Africa to big firms, in this case, Naspers, which owns News24 and ViaAfrika,” said Cosas president Kamogelo Nkosi.
“The minister claims there are irregularities, whilst on the contrary, she only means to defend the big publishing companies such as ViaAfrika and Maskew Miller. This is a vivid attempt to protect the interests of private individuals that do not cater for innocent learners.”
READ; MK Party MP demands urgent probe into R1.6bn school textbooks saga
According to Cosas, Gwarube has been hellbent on entrenching a neo-liberal agenda in the department, including in the recruitment of senior officials.
Ideological shifts and administrative tension
The student body claims that the hiring of people symphathetic to DA’s liberal economy ideology has become a norm since Gwarube took over, including the recruitment of people from companies that have a commercial interest in basic education affairs.
“We know that the department is under siege and that black officials in the department are targets of personal and professional attacks,” Nkosi continued.
“They are subjected to abusive behaviour by the DA minister; they are harassed and publicly shown to be incompetent. This you have already seen by what she is now doing of abusing her powers and subjecting the DG to an illegal lifestyle audit.”
Gwarube has previously stated that she suspended the catalogue for foundation phase owing to concerns about governance and procurement issues that besiege the programme.
Procurement disputes and historical precedent
However, Cosas believes the maneuver is politically motivated to ensure that DA-friendly service providers are given the advantage.
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Cosas maintains that it boggles the mind that these stated governance and procurement irregularities emerged only with the arrival of Gwarube after a decade of no problems.
“The department has run the process of the National catalogue for approximately 11 years and has consistently found no faults in the internal administrative process of the catalogue. It’s only now that stories are being made, untruths are being formed, deceit is being used, all in an attempt to sell the department to the highest bidder.
“We further demand that for the compilation of the intermediate phase catalogue, the department must convene a summit between all stakeholders so that all stakeholders are involved in the process of discussing the catalogue and that such rogue elements are done away with.”
Fractures within the government of national unity
The attack on Gwarube by the ANC-aligned Cosas has once again sharpened the contradictions that exist within the GNU, which is led by the former liberation movement.
Nkosi said theirs was a principled stance against a minister they believe had become too big for her own shoes.
As part of their evidence, they say the ongoing standoff between Gwarube and basic education director-general Mathanzima Mweli is proof of how destructive the minister is.
Mweli and Gwarube have been engaged in an open warfare over the same textbook catalogue programme as well as the lifestyle audits officials within the department have been subjected to.
Defence of the director-general
Cosas has come to Mweli’s defence.
“Cosas has also observed acts of abuse and intimidation towards DBE officials, which include the minister’s insulting demand for the DG of the Department of Basic Education to undergo a lifestyle audit,” said Nkosi.
“She has called for the audit to be done without any procedure and has thus caused the public to lose trust in the DG. This constitutes an act of public humiliation. This she does as a way of distracting them so that she can proceed to illegally grant tenders and contracts to multi-million companies, leaving local businesses with no space to operate in the department.”
- ANC kindergarten Cosas accused basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube of prioritising the DA's political agenda by delaying the release of the R1.6bn National Textbook catalogue for grades 1-3 for 2027.
- Cosas alleges the delay aims to benefit big firms like Naspers, which owns News24 and ViaAfrika, accusing Gwarube of defending these private publishing companies.
- The organisation claims Gwarube has promoted a neo-liberal agenda in the department, including recruiting officials sympathetic to DA's liberal economic views.
- Cosas supports Basic Education director-general Mathanzima Mweli, condemning Gwarube's demand for an allegedly illegal lifestyle audit and mistreatment of officials.
- Cosas called for a summit involving all stakeholders in the compilation of the intermediate phase catalogue to prevent dominance by political or commercial interests.
ANC kindergarten, Cosas, has taken aim at basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube, fingering her for allegedly prioritising DA's political mandate ahead of a state-led functional education department.
The organisation representing learners' rights in the basic education space believes that Gwarube's delayed release of the R1.6bn worth National Textbook catalogue for grade 1-3 for 2027 smacks of a political agenda to render the department dysfunctional.
In their view, the move is meant to private public education for the benefit of DA funders.
"We know that the actual reason behind delaying the Foundation phase catalogue rests entirely on selling the future of learners in South Africa to big firms, in this case, Naspers, which owns News24 and ViaAfrika," said Cosas president Kamogelo Nkosi.
"The minister claims there are irregularities, whilst on the contrary, she only means to defend the big publishing companies such as ViaAfrika and Maskew Miller. This is a vivid attempt to protect the interests of private individuals that do not cater for innocent learners."
READ; MK Party MP demands urgent probe into R1.6bn school textbooks saga
According to Cosas, Gwarube has been hellbent on entrenching a neo-liberal agenda in the department, including in the recruitment of senior officials.
The student body claims that the hiring of people symphathetic to DA's liberal economy ideology has become a norm since Gwarube took over, including the recruitment of people from companies that have a commercial interest in basic education affairs.
"We know that the department is under siege and that black officials in the department are targets of personal and professional attacks," Nkosi continued.
"They are subjected to abusive behaviour by the DA minister; they are harassed and publicly shown to be incompetent. This you have already seen by what she is now doing of abusing her powers and subjecting the DG to an illegal lifestyle audit."
Gwarube has previously stated that she suspended the catalogue for foundation phase owing to concerns about governance and procurement issues that besiege the programme.
However, Cosas believes the maneuver is politically motivated to ensure that DA-friendly service providers are given the advantage.
RAED; National Treasury asked to investigate R285m textbook tender
Cosas maintains that it boggles the mind that these stated governance and procurement irregularities emerged only with the arrival of Gwarube after a decade of no problems.
"The department has run the process of the National catalogue for approximately 11 years and has consistently found no faults in the internal administrative process of the catalogue. It’s only now that stories are being made, untruths are being formed, deceit is being used, all in an attempt to sell the department to the highest bidder.
"We further demand that for the compilation of the intermediate phase catalogue, the department must convene a summit between all stakeholders so that all stakeholders are involved in the process of discussing the catalogue and that such rogue elements are done away with."
The attack on Gwarube by the ANC-aligned Cosas has once again sharpened the contradictions that exist within the GNU, which is led by the former liberation movement.
Nkosi said theirs was a principled stance against a minister they believe had become too big for her own shoes.
As part of their evidence, they say the ongoing standoff between Gwarube and basic education director-general Mathanzima Mweli is proof of how destructive the minister is.
Mweli and Gwarube have been engaged in an open warfare over the same textbook catalogue programme as well as the lifestyle audits officials within the department have been subjected to.
Cosas has come to Mweli's defence.
"Cosas has also observed acts of abuse and intimidation towards DBE officials, which include the minister’s insulting demand for the DG of the Department of Basic Education to undergo a lifestyle audit," said Nkosi.
"She has called for the audit to be done without any procedure and has thus caused the public to lose trust in the DG. This constitutes an act of public humiliation. This she does as a way of distracting them so that she can proceed to illegally grant tenders and contracts to multi-million companies, leaving local businesses with no space to operate in the department."
