Mpumalanga Premier Mandla Ndlovu has credited President Cyril Ramaphosa’s anti-corruption drive for the Hawks’ arrest of officials and service providers linked to an alleged R114-million corruption scandal inside the Mpumalanga Department of Education.
The arrests, carried out on Sunday by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, relate to alleged fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering connected to school tenders and emergency repair projects.
Commitments made during SONA
Welcoming the development, Ndlovu said the arrests reflect the practical implementation of the commitments Ramaphosa outlined in his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“It is worth noting that the arrests complement the president’s firm commitment to fight corruption and crime as outlined in the SONA,” said Ndlovu. “In addition, building a capable, ethical and developmental state, as one of the three priorities of the 7th Administration, requires a high level of commitment to act in cases where risks are identified to obstruct the realisation of this aspiration.”
Ndlovu urged the Department of Education to urgently assess how the arrests will affect internal functionality. This includes administrative operations, service delivery and staff morale. And he urged that teaching and learning continues without disruption.
He also cautioned communities to respect the constitutional principle that suspects are innocent until proven guilty. The provincial government respects the independence of law-enforcement agencies and the judicial process, he added.
Deep-rooted failures in governance
While Ndovu framed the arrests as evidence that government is acting, opposition parties disagreed. They said the scale of the alleged fraud exposes deep-rooted failures in governance and oversight.
ActionSA lawmaker Thoko Mashiane said the reported R114-million allegedly siphoned from the education system should have been put to good use. It could have been used to improve school infrastructure, protect learner safety and support quality teaching and learning.
“These are funds that should have been used to improve school infrastructure, safeguard learner safety, and support quality teaching and learning. Instead, corruption has once again denied learners, particularly in rural and under-resourced communities, the dignity and protection they are entitled to,” Mashiane said.
EFF Mpumalanga lawmaker Collen Sedibe said the alleged looting of funds meant for emergency school repairs amounted to an attack on the future of children.
An attack on children’s future
“For far too long, corruption has affected the people of Mpumalanga — particularly impoverished and working-class learners — of quality education, proper infrastructure, and dignified learning conditions. The looting of public funds meant for emergency repairs and maintenance of schools is not only criminal. It is but an attack on the future of our children,” Sedibe said.
The party called for the immediate arrest of all remaining suspects. Also for the blocklisting of implicated service providers and the recovery of every cent stolen from public coffers.
Both ActionSA and the EFF have further called on the National Prosecuting Authority to ensure swift prosecutions. They want those found guilty to face the full consequences of the law.
