Thapelo Molefe

THE South African Communist Party (SACP) has rejected the Western Cape provincial government’s decision to reduce teacher posts by 2 407 in the 2025 academic year, describing it as a discriminatory measure that will further compromise learning performance in disadvantaged communities.

SACP provincial spokesperson Lizwi Gegule noted that the Western Cape Department of Education’s decision comes despite the province’s underwhelming academic outcomes in recent years.

“This move will further compromise educational performance and outcomes by, among others, compounding the skewed resource allocation between schools in affluent areas and those in townships and rural communities,” Gegule said.

He said that the Western Cape intends to exploit economic measures as an excuse to further discriminate against schools in working-class areas.

“It is these communities that will bear the brunt of the reduction in teacher posts,” he warned.

Gegule said they are working with the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in denouncing the DA’s attempt to weaken education in working-class communities.

“The DA-led government refused to reprioritise budgets for high-priority items, such as teaching and learning, to achieve better educational outcomes,” Gegula said.

Sadtu provincial secretary Sibongile Kwazi said the union has rejected the proposal and came up with a proposal to augment the finances for maintaining the current post basket.

However, Kwazi said the proposals fell on deaf ears, and the implications of the decrease in the basket of posts have dire consequences for contract educators.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Johnathan Paoli

THE Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training said it is outraged at the persistent denial of governance irregularities and attempted justification for controversial “bench-marking” trip by the Construction, Education and Training Authority (CETA)’s Chief Executive Officer, Malusi Shezi, who also claims their appearance before the committee was based on unfounded rumours.

Officials from CETA, the Services Sector, Education and Training Authority (SSETA) and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) appeared before the committee on Friday, to account for issues including audit action plans to rectify the findings of the 2022/23 audit, employee wellness and allegations of corruption and governance irregularities.

Shezi was joined by Acting Chief Financial Office (CFO) Sanele Radebe, Accounting member of the AA Roy Mnisi and Executive Officer for Strategic Support, Mabo Thobela.

The CETA representatives delivered a report to the committee, justifying the “bench-marking” trip as crucially part of its Research and Innovation focus area and denied the allegations of corruption saying there is no substance to them.

The trip, punted as a study of best practices by board members in order to improve operations and sustainability at the institution, was reportedly expected to last 24 days at a cost of R4 million, with an additional subsistence and travel allowance of approximately R250 000.

The report indicated that the trip was postponed and not cancelled, as CETA was still planning to share strategic intent with the Executive Authority.

Shezi, said the allegations of corruption and governance irregularities, were the product of a media strategy to tarnish the reputation of the institution’s Accounting Authority (AA) and his own office.

However, Committee Chair Tebogo Letsie said he found the comments from the CETA executive distasteful and disrespectful, considering it was the committee’s mandate to hold those who use public funds accountable.

Letsie criticised the planned trip, and said the committee found it constitutes wasteful expenditure, in light of the fact that the present board’s time of office comes to an end on 31 March next year, asking who their newly-acquired skills would serve.

“It looks more like a holiday, that must not happen,” he said.

The chair said the countries targeted for bench-marking were not known for best practices in the construction sector, and those include Kenya, Egypt, the UK, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

“We are going to write officially to the Minister of Higher Education and Training and the Director-General that the CETA bench-marking trip must be cancelled as the terms of the board are coming to an end,” he said.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education Mimmy Gondwe commended the Portfolio Committee for cancelling the trip.

“We are not in a favourable economic climate as a country, and what kind of message are our entities saying by taking such a trip?,” asked Gondwe.

Further, Letsie said the committee remained concerned that the SSETA had received a qualified audit opinion for four consecutive years since the 2018/19 financial year, while governance challenges had resulted in CETA being placed under administration in 2011 and 2020, with subsequent dissolution of the relevant boards.

The committee recommended that the DG responsible for CETAs should face the consequences if they were unable to deal with the problems under their portfolio.

Meanwhile, NEHAWU representative and Secretary for the union’s CETA branch, Olebogeng Tsitsi, told the committee of widespread bullying and victimisation saying she even felt scared for criticising the CEO.

“I would like it put on record, us being here as shop stewards, we might find our suspension letters on Monday,” she said.

Tsitsi said at CETA, the relationship between the board, NEHAWU and management is non-existent and that a recognition agreement which was signed in 2019, the CEO did not follow.

She said Shezi was running an “apartheid-like” institution involving intimidation, bullying of staff, harassment and changing policies as he saw fit.

Earlier in the month, the union welcomed the suspension of Shezi, following allegations of interference and misconduct by the board relating to procurement processes at the institution.

In closing, Letsie called for an instant pause in the issuing of adverts calling for nominations for new board members until the current board provides the committee with reports on current governance challenges.

The chair demanded a list of all senior executives including their professional history dating back ten years.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johannah Malogadihlare

Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety in the City of Joburg, Mgcini Tshwaku led an outreach programme on Tuesday where he celebrated Women’s Month by joining hands with various departments to distribute sanitary towels to Aurora Girls High School learners in Soweto.

The pupils received education on matters affecting their lifestyle such as the dangers of drug abuse, menstrual health and how to get full support and access to  affordable sanitary towels.

Stakeholders also mentioned that girls need to be educated about menstrual health and to get full support on their menstrual health.

Tshwaku encouraged girls to raise their voices and to gain interest in politics, drawing inspiration from prominent female figures in the struggle, such as Mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

The MMC urged pupils to speak out against any kind of abuse they may experience either at home or at school, and that the Public Safety Department is always reading to tackle such matters.

“I urge girls to unite and advocate for their rights, as they are most aware of the issues that affect them”, said Tshwaku.

Addressing the importance of education in young girls, the MMC mentioned that every girl who finds it difficult to access sanity towels should be assisted to prevent women from losing their economic independence and being stuck in  abusive relationships.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Thapelo Molefe

Gauteng Education MEC, Matome Chiloane, said gangsterims will not be tolerated after a fire broke out in Lancea Vale Secondary School, Eldorado Park, alleged to be gang-related and involving a group of pupils.

Three classrooms were severely damaged when the fire broke out on Tuesday at the school and the incident has heightened concers about the safety and well-being of students and staff.

According to preliminary reports, the fire started in Room 81 on the first floor of Block C and spread rapidly, gutting three classrooms. 

The structural integrity of the building is now under inspection, and firefighters are assessing the damage to determine if the affected block can be safely used for teaching and learning.

“We will not tolerate violence or gangsterism in and around our schools. We are closely monitoring the situation and are certain that learning and teaching will resume accordingly at the school,” Chiloane said.

The police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the  incident, and the Gauteng Department of Education has urged anyone with information to come forward and assist with the investigation.

The incident is the latest in a series of violent incidents affecting schools in the area.

The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) spokesperson, Nomusa Cembi, said she is concerned and disturbed by incidents of violence in schools around Eldorado Park, including a shooting incident of two learners at Willow Crescent Secondary School and the stabbing of a pupil at Lancea Vale Secondary School.

“The safety and well-being of our learners and teachers is paramount. We call on the government to invest in tighter security measures in our schools and for all stakeholders in education to work together to make schools safe havens conducive for teaching and learning,” Cembi said.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has reiterated its call to review the school safety strategy to protect learners and educators saying it has consistently raised concerns about school safety and the recent incidents have highlighted the need for urgent action.

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Sergio Isa Dos Santos, said it was high time the Education MEC and the Premier’s office to stop talking and effectively address this challenge.

“This entails reviewing the school safety strategy to enhance security in and around schools, establishing clear safety plans with regular drills and emergency response procedures, and enhancing collaboration with local law enforcement,” Santos said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Johnathan Paoli

THE National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has announced that progress has been made in dealing with the challenges surrounding private student accommodation in the post-school education sector, but that “unavoidable risks” remained which required further work.

Administrator for the scheme, Sithembiso Nomvalo, presented a report to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on Tuesday on the progress made in resolving payments to private accommodation and resolving outstanding student appeals.

Nomvalo said that thus far, NSFAS has made payments totaling R1.6 billion in private accommodation at the pilot institutions, with R311 million to TVET Colleges and R1.297 billion to university accommodation providers.

He said that some of the private accommodations are not offering suitable housing, especially in rural areas and some students enter unfavourable contracts with landlords.

Nomvalo confirmed that the scheme had received 94 469 appeals and that 63% have been resolved, while 35 226 remain unresolved, but are expected to be finalised by the first week of September.

He said that he was in the process of initiating a review of the NSFAS organogram to ensure roles and responsibilities are aligned with organisational and strategic objectives.

In addition, he said NSFAS was finalising filling critical positions within the scheme, such as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Internal Auditor.

The committee welcomed the report on the progress, including the setting up of task teams for engagements around student accommodation with landlords being part of the process across the country in order to mitigate against possible risk of instability.

However, Committee chair Tebogo Letsie, while welcoming the report, criticised the failures of the scheme in dealing with the challenges.

Letsie said there was a need for a skills audit at the scheme that will assist in dealing with identifying unsuitable employees that contribute to creating a chain reaction that ultimately inconveniences students.

He said the scheme needs to ensure that it strengthens its ICT systems as a matter of urgency to curb student data falling into the wrong hands.

Letsie welcomed the admission by Nomvalo that NSFAS does not possess credible student data and that it was vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

More importantly, the chair called for a forensic investigation on the National Treasury funds that were given to the scheme to improve its ICT systems that were never improved, with criminal charges being brought against any implicated in the embezzlement of funds.

He said it was apparent the scheme is plagued by the inappropriate use of funds, which required investigating and correcting.

“NSFAS cannot claim not having enough money on its administrative budget to hire staff to solve problems of students while at the same time renting a building at a cost of around R2 million a month,” Letsie said.

He called for an intensification of oversight, and keeping the scheme accountable during its path to recovery.

“We are going to conduct oversight over NSFAS until things turn around and going forward, the committee will need to be provided with a monthly report on what the scheme is doing with appeals, payment of student accommodation and allowances,” the chair said.

Earlier in the year, Finance minister Enoch Godongwana disclosed the 2024 budget allocation for education, with R53.6 billion being earmarked for NSFAS alone, a portion of which was specifically set aside to assist in the development of ICT systems.

INSIDE EDUCATION  

By Alicia Mmashakana

Chaos ensued as parents embarked on protest action at the Verulam Secondary in Durban after videos surfaced on social media showing a girl learner assaulting another at the school.

The angry parents are calling for the expulsion of the learner who was shown beating up the hapless girl on the video.

Provincial Education Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said authorities were deeply disturbed by the video and urged learners, parents and educators to report any incidents of bullying or violence to school authorities without delay.

“We are deeply disturbed by the video that is circulating on social media depicting a learner from Verulam Secondary School bullying and assaulting another girl learner. We are investigating the matter through the circuit manager, we are definitely going to take disciplinary actions,” Mahlambi said.

The head of the department Nkosinathi Ngcobo called on all stakeholders to work together to create a safe and nurturing environment where all learners can thrive.

Reports show that every year, more than 3.2 million students in South Africa are bullied, leaving parents distraught.

Educators, principals, and members of the governing body are aware of the issues in their schools, but they are puzzled on how to address them, the report said.

According to statistics, students are responsible for 90% of all bullying in schools.

An important study found that the school environment, or at least students’ feelings about it, was linked to bullying behaviour.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Johnathan Paoli

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has announced her vision of transforming foundational education and concentrating on quality and proficiency when it comes to early, mid and secondary learners.

Gwarube delivered an address at the 40th Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA) conference at the Century City Conference Centre and Hotel in Cape Town, which aimed to bring together examination councils, assessment bodies, researchers, policymakers, educators, research institutions and government officials, among others, to engage, exchange and share their experiences, research Endings; and discuss topical issues germane to access to, and success in, postgraduate studies.

She said the South African schooling system is extremely diverse and complex; with 13.4 million learners, 460 000 teachers, over 24 000 schools and 12 official languages.

“With so many learners in our system, making sure and looking at the standards is very important,” Gwarube said, pointing out that the greater concern is ensuring the quality of outcomes throughout the schooling system.

Gwarube confirmed the implementation of an evaluation of learners in Grade 3, 6 and 9; coupled with a similar appraisal of school functionality and provincial support.

She said there was a fundamental need to obsess over outcomes and the impact of that educational product on the success of learners completing 13 years of schooling

“Make sure learners can take pride not only in what they have attained, but also in order to facilitate the opening of global opportunities,” she said.

Gwarube said the ‘educational’ product is indicative of Basic Education requiring a shift of thought, from being a social department to being considered part of the economic cluster.

“That shift in thinking is important, because we need to start thinking about how we maximise the product in order for learners to unlock economic opportunities, particularly for countries like SA with its legacies of inequality with 7 out of ten young people being unemployed,” she said.

The South African educational system was being evaluated in terms of 6 social justice indicators: access, equity, quality, proficiency, redress and ‘improsivity”.

Gwarube called for more to be done, particularly in terms of quality and proficiency, and not just access, in light of the achievements since the dawn of the democratic dispensation.

“How do we re-imagine educational assessment? Curriculum strengthening processes involve the content of what gets taught, the teaching and learning, and the assessment and professional support schools receive,” she said.

She said that very little focus was placed on skills, competencies, attitudes, values and character development of learners, and that this needed to change.

The minister called for the strengthening of the curriculum and said it was needed in order to shift the priority to focusing on a holistic development of the learner, to better equip the youth with the skills to face tomorrow.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Malegapuru Makgoba

I have known and worked with Dr Sibongiseni Maxwell Dhlomo, the former Deputy Minister of Health, since 1985, when he was a final-year medical student at the Nelson Rolihlahla School of Medicine, UKZN.

We became friends because he often drove me to my residence after school. He was part of a group of young students
including Drs Steve Komati, now a physician and Victor Ramathesela, a sports medicine specialist who is also a DJ and a
television commentator.

Also deserving of mention are Aquina Thulare, a senior official responsible for the management of the NHI, Prof Maphoshane Nchabeleng who is head and professor of Microbiology at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University and the late Tshimbiluni Mathivha who was a professor of Cardiology at the University of Pretoria.

Bongani Mawethu Mayosi was a Professor of Medicine at UCT and I often tutored them and gave them extra clinical tuition over weekends at the King Edward VIII Hospital. My goal was to encourage these medical graduates to take postgraduate research studies after qualifying rather than taking the option of private practice, which was very popular at the time.

Bongani was much younger and was behind the Sibongiseni Group at medical school. Happily, they all took my advice and are playing important roles within the health system.

Dr Dhlomo was arrested and detained over Christmas in 1985 and his father often visited my office to share his pain and to search for his whereabouts.

During these visits he was often accompanied by Nozizwe Charlotte Madlala-Routledge, the chairperson of the Natal
Organisation of Women (NOW).

He was sentenced to imprisonment on Robben Island but we maintained contact. He continued studying psychology and
sociology while on the island, completing a BA degree through UNISA and I provided him support.

I then received a large case document from Gay Johnson MacDougall, a well-known Human Rights lawyer at the US
Congress, and was requested to provide a character reference for him, which I gladly did.

After his release, Sibongiseni Dhlomo served as special advisor to the vice-chancellor and as a member of the Interim
Executive Committee at the establishment of UKZN in 2004, and we continued our working relationship when he joined the KZN Department of Health, later becoming an MEC for Health and chaired the Health Portfolio Committee in Parliament.

I worked with him as Health Ombud when he was Deputy Minister of Health. Dr Dhlomo is a coordinator, he is gentle, caring and passionate about South Africa’s success but in particular is dedicated to South Africa’s national health system and its quality.

He is an ardent advocate for the National Health Insurance Bill. Dr Dhlomo understood the political dynamics and culture of KZN better than I ever could.

I also served with Minister Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan, a shaper in Belbin’s team role categorisation. Gordhan is a Minister with a penchant for interference and at times undermines the people he appoints, so much so that at times he is referred to as minister of ‘Command and Control’ (notably by Ghaleb Cachalia of the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Gordhan was the Minister of Public Enterprises. I initially chaired the Social, Ethics and Sustainability Committee of the
Eskom Board chaired by Dr Jabu Mabuza. I was subsequently appointed as interim chairperson of the Eskom Board when Jabu Mabuza resigned, and he later passed away.

Our mandate was to stop the widespread looting of state capture and set up principles of good corporate governance at
Eskom. I served a full term on the Board and the Minister requested me to continue serving while he reviewed – rather than replaced – the Board.

For 18 months this review continued, but it was never finalised despite several reminders, requests and empty promises that he would address the matter urgently.

However, the Minister kept ducking and diving; he was as slippery as an eel. However, much later he did confirm that he had ‘done what he could’ in complementing the board.

He then claimed that the matter was now ‘out of his hands’. Was it stuck at the ANC Cadre Deployment Committee, asked Radio 702’s Clement Manyathela.

But Gordhan would not be drawn in and would not say. We respected each other but for some unexplained reason, there
seemed to be a trust deficit between us.

I served in the Eskom Board that prepared Eskom’s presentation to the Zondo Commission on state capture; a board selection committee that interviewed and recommended Andre de Ruyter’s appointment as GCE; and a Board that initiated the implementation of the unbundling (‘divisionalisation’) of Eskom into three divisions, namely Transmission, Distribution and Generation as required by government.

But the process was delayed by the Department of Public Enterprises and the Minister, who dragged their heels in appointing the independent board of the Transmission Company.

As Anton Eberhard explains in his article headed ‘Ministers have let Ramaphosa down on the unbundling of Eskom’ in
BusinessDay of 16 January 2023, the Board that under Ms Mandy Rambaros led the Eskom Transition Programme, which is now entrenched.

And when the ambassadors of the UK, USA and the EU, visited South Africa to consider and finalise the USD8.5 billion
financing for approval at COP26, they needed to know and confirm that the Eskom Board supported this venture.
The Board did indeed support this programme fully. The same Board had reported several high-level state capture-related cases of corruption and looting to the SAPS and courts without much progress.

The same Board had recovered some looted monies from a few companies such as ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB). This was the same Board that worked jointly with the NPA and SIU; a Board that initiated the Eskom Skills Audit and Organisational Culture Change with Ms. Elsie Pule, executive HR; a Board that together with Phillip Dukashe, executive generation; Jan Oberholzer, chief operating officer; and Calib Cassim, chief financial officer, identified the three troublesome power stations, namely Duvha, Majuba and Thuthuka, for focused external supervision and support.

The same Board also reversed a major decision on the Econ oil tender, saving Eskom approximately R10b. I served on a Board that provided the Minister and the President with a comprehensive response to the Zondo Commission’s report.
The Board I served refused to approve the Karpowership tender for its 20-year term and lack of indemnity; I served on a Board that jointly, with the executive, prepared the basis for the so-called Presidential Energy Crisis Action Plan to ‘fix Eskom’.

The plan was prepared in conjunction with a small team of experts in the electricity field. The team of experts was chaired by Dr Bonang Mohale, President of BUSA, and Prof Anton Eberhard and Chris Yellen were members of the team.
This plan had been in the making since Andre de Ruyter was appointed GCE of Eskom on 6 January 2020 and was now well defined. The plan was initially shelved and disregarded by the Minister of Public Enterprises over time, only to be resuscitated when the disquiet, pressure and crisis of load shedding was mounting.

The plan had been modified and refined over this period but essentially it retained the basic elements of ‘additional megawatt capacity and fixing the Eskom plant’.

The load shedding crisis has gone on for too long. It not only impacts on the wellbeing and lives of South Africans but also on the economy and development of the country. It is a crippling crisis.

It is common cause that the Eskom coal fleet was poorly maintained for a long time. Equally, we know that there was a period when Eskom Executives were instructed to keep the lights on at all costs i.e., running the units hard beyond their capacities.

The units are completely run down, becoming unpredictable and unreliable with multiple repeated breakdowns. That is the reality staring at Eskom’s executive management.

No amount of political shouting, screaming or intimidation can correct this. These machines are simply following the laws of physics, mechanics and not politics.

Politics and ideology will never resolve the electricity crisis. The ANC-led government has over 15 years failed abysmally to resolve the Eskom crisis using politics and ideology.

How many times or how long must/should you fail before you recognise that the method or approach does not work. Some of the ANC politicians have very little understanding of the complexity of the electricity problem and its solution.
The level of understanding is underscored by timeframes for stopping load shedding. Some government ministers claim to be able to stop load shedding in six months; others at the end of the year; yet others in two years and others have no clue.

For a long time, the Board of Eskom advised the Minister that it was impossible to expect the current Eskom fleet to attain a 75% energy availability factor (EAF). However, the Minister would not budge, and despite this advice, he insisted that the 75% EAF must be achieved.

We were later promised an EAF of 60% by 31 March 2023, however the measured EAF on that date was recorded as 52%. A real mismatch between politics and science and technology.

Electricity generation is a complex scientific and technological process. The generation of electrons does not understand,
listen to, or read Das Kapital.

To resolve this ongoing crisis, the following should happen:

Read and internalise the recommendations on Eskom contained in the NDP, dated August 2012.

Resolve and re-align policy and governance uncertainty at Eskom.

Politics, ideology, politicians and politically-aligned senior staff, cadre deployed or not, should be recused or removed from Eskom.

Experts in the field of electricity should be brought in to resolve the crisis.

The experts must be given a specific mandate and be left to resolve the crisis without political meddling or interference.

The experts must be given autonomy to practise their trade.

The approach used for COVID-19, of appointing an independent ministerial advisory committee of health scientists with
modifications should be adopted i.e., appoint top-class experts in electricity.

Politicians cannot suddenly become electricity scientists or experts through briefings or surfing the internet. It’s admirable that they
are briefed, but this does not convert them to experts, so they should remain humble.

The re-purposing programme of the current Eskom coal fleet must be accelerated to avoid a total grid collapse.

Koeberg needs an extension for another 20 years. After 20 years Koeberg will be shut down.

So, to plan for the future, and for the development of South Africa, a needed mix of energy is required. We should therefore
start building a new Koeberg now and possibly double the capacity of the current grid. These actions must commence now.

Importantly, we must suspend ad nauseum dead-end debates … and implement.
President Ramaphosa has been let down by his own ministers. DA leader John Steenhuisen pointed this out to the president’s Security cluster ministers during the 2021 July riots.
The probe on the Digital Vibes scandal and the then Health Minister is ‘ongoing’ two years later; and Prof Anton Eberhard called a spade a spade when he pointed out how Minister Gordhan has let down the President on the Eskom electricity crisis.
However, the President retained these Ministers who failed him and the country, but critically he gave them the authority to resolve the crisis. Surely this was ill-advised, if not foolish.
As Albert Einstein once said, ‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them’. The definition of a fool is someone who does the same thing repeatedly, expecting different results.
This is what the ANC government has done for the past 15 years. The president’s cabinet by all assessments was the
weakest to lead the country, deliver services and understand planning and strategy.
This was a cabinet very allergic to implementation. However, it was his cabinet. If birds of a feather do flock together, then the President and Minister Gordhan were amongst these ‘flocking birds’.
Finally, a private security company was hired to investigate the threat of sabotage and corruption. During this period the
budget deficit was gradually reduced and corporate governance was improved.
I am a firm believer that the face of an organisation is its Chief Executive Officer rather than its board chairman; that the role of the board is oversight and strategic and not operational, meddlesome or ‘activist’ as former Minister Gordhan seemed to believe.
There is no clause for activism in the Company Act or the King Code of Corporate Governance; I also believe it is not the
business nor the competence of the board chairperson to conduct annual assessments of the board members.
Members of the board are senior and experienced individuals who do not need this type of ‘kindergarten control’ or
assessment. I also believe that the role of the board is not only to hold the executive accountable but also to ‘support’ and ‘guide’ them to succeed in their operational task.
That Eskom is in a mess and continues to be messy is a tendency that began in the late 1990s because of ANC policy
‘missteps and a failure to take advice from experts’.
This current mess has been two decades in the making. This is common cause, as both President Mbeki and President
Ramaphosa have acknowledged.
The ruling party must take full responsibility as the two Presidents have done. However, the relevant Ministers did not accept the blame. They continued to speak with forked tongues and at times they contradicted one another to create policy uncertainty.
It is indeed ironic that the very ministers who were part of the chain of command that led to the mess at Eskom were given the authority to get rid of people who were trying their best to solve the Eskom problem.
They should have been removed and would have been removed in a normal democracy, but ours is not normal; it’s a ‘miracle’ democracy.
When Ms Busi Mavuso, a member of the Eskom Board, had the so-called ‘robust’ exchanges with Scopa and its chairperson, Honourable Hlengwa, the Department of Public Enterprises criticised her conduct publicly.
All Busi had said was that the ANC government must take accountability and responsibility for the mess Eskom is in,
something which is common cause.
She was not given credit but was instead criticised harshly. I then received a strange phone call from the Department of Public Enterprises instructing me ‘to do something about this board member’. The tone and subtext I understood to mean that I should reprimand or ask her to step down from the board. Instead, I called a board meeting to discuss the matter and her stance was unanimously supported.
Judging by the degree of load shedding, Busi must be having the last laugh. In a Mail & Guardian article dated 20 to 26 January 2023 and titled ‘The Eskom Killers’, of the 24 ‘killers’ listed 13 (54.2%) were politicians and seven were politically-Gupta related

appointees, the three Gupta brothers and Tshediso Matona, who was unceremoniously removed as GCE, allegedly on the

instructions of former president Zuma and the Gupta-appointed Board of Mr Tsotsi and Dr Ben Ngubane.

Importantly, Minister Gordhan features amongst this illustrious group. Politicians, politics and ANC ideology ‘killed’ Eskom in a

period of just over 25 years through cadre deployment, looting and confusing good corporate governance with stealing.

Minister Pravin Gordhan is a struggle veteran, the former Commissioner of SARS who set the foundations of the revenue service on

its way of excellence, world-class performance and success, the Minister of Finance and a qualified pharmacist.

He is a graduate of UDW and a role model for many students and political activists of the time. A man of principle and integrity

who understands business and finance.

He is committed to excellence and the success of our young democracy. He eschews corruption and worse with the grand-scale

looting that took place within the SOEs.

However, leading a revenue collecting service such as SARS does not equate or come anywhere near/close to leading a

complex science, engineering and technology organisation that Eskom is.

Collecting revenue is totally different from generating electricity, a very complex scientific and technological project that should

be devoid of politics but understood scientifically and technologically.

I repeat: Electrons do not read nor understand Das Kapital: Kritik der politischen Oekonomie, Karl Marx’s philosophy. An

industrial action at SARS has virtually no impact on the wellbeing of South Africans, unlike an industrial action often

accompanied by sabotage and property destruction at Eskom.

The Minister appreciated very little of the pervasive toxic, racially charged environment of Eskom between workers and the

management.

This toxic environment affected the strategies and pace at which one could undertake transformation. There was little

understanding of this critical factor.

His greatest weakness as is popularly experienced and reported widely is a passion for interference, intervention,

micromanagement, meddlesome behaviour and undermining the board and executive.

He has a misguided belief that his way is the only way to solve complex problems. Contrary to reports of alleged racism by

Themba Godi and Adv Dali Mpofu SC, I never observed or experienced racism from Pravin Gordhan. He is not a racist.

Some journalists often inquired how I ‘got on’ with Minister Gordhan because of the way he treated them with disrespect and

at times arrogance. He remains in total denial of the many cumulative failures of the government and his department in the

electricity crisis and the policy contradictions that continue to confuse the operations and governance of Eskom under his former

political leadership.

On this aspect he simply refused to take accountability and responsibility. He appeared to be a very square peg in a round

hole.

Prof Anton Eberhard, a world-renowned energy expert, former NPC Commissioner and a member of President Ramaphosa’s

‘war room on Eskom’ puts it this way: ‘I’ll be surprised if CEO de Ruyter does not depart @ Eskom_SA soon. An impossible job,

misaligned board, and a suspicious minister who contacts his management directly, spied on by the state, inadequate police

action vs corruption. He’s helped deliver the JETP@COP27. Good time to leave?’ As we now know, De Ruyter has left.

In his hard-hitting article ‘The problem(s) with South Africa’ in City Press of 2 October 2022, Peter Vundla describes Minister

Gordhan thus: ‘Much can also be said of Pravin Gordhan, whose effortless superiority, interference in all things and rule by

sleight of hand earned him the much-deserved sobriquet of prime minister’.

Even before Peter Vundla’s characterisation of Pravin Gordhan, the prescient Bathabile Dlamini of the ‘smallanyana skeletons’

had said this of Pravin Gordhan in an article in the Mail & Guardian of 16 April 2017 titled ‘Gordhan only deals with people who

say ‘Yes Baas’ to him. “He enjoys harassing other people; he enjoys chastising other people; he enjoys bullying other people;.

It’s his hobby. He wants to be followed by everyone. He has feelings of grandeur. He thinks he is bigger than everyone in the

world’. He tends to butt heads with independent, thinking people.

Nothing comes this close to describing a Messiah!

I do relate to these descriptions. His legacy is in setting up a world-class South African Revenue Service (SARS) and fighting

state capture corruption, but, he is the Minister who failed to defend Eskom and Mr Andre de Ruyter while Andre was under

attack from his cabinet colleagues, and failed the country at Eskom and other SOEs such as SAA, despite his long illustrious

struggle career.

Perhaps South Africa is not only a ‘miracle democracy’ but also a country blessed with emerging Messiahs. With so much discord

within Eskom, so much policy and governance confusion, so much racial tensions, low trust deficit and poor political leadership,

transformation at Eskom was impossible to undertake.

In total I served with seven cabinet ministers and one deputy minister in the 5th and 6th Administrations.

It is now apparent that ministers Sibusiso Bhengu, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Ben Ngubane, Kader Asmal, Naledi Pandor, Trevor

Manuel, and Aaron Motsoaledi distinguished themselves in advancing transformation in their respective portfolios.

They all had deep knowledge and understanding of their portfolios. Their legacies are a testimony to their works. In contrast,
Ministers Manto Msimang-Tshabalala, Essop Pahad, and Pravin Gordhan have let the transformation project down.
President Mandela was royalty and unquestionably belonged to a different generation and type of leadership (being traditional,
sophisticated and championing a modern democracy); President Mbeki was like a business company CEO.

This is an edited excerpt from Malegapuru Makgoba’s Leadership for Transformation since the Dawn of South Africa’s Democracy, which is available at local bookstores for R360.

By Amie Rapaport and Morgan Polikoff

Parents are reporting worse mental health for their children than they did a decade ago, but different groups of children are struggling with mental health in markedly different ways.

That’s what our team at the University of Southern California’s Center for Applied Research in Education found using a widely used mental health screening measure. More specifically, we found that preteen boys – the subgroup with the worst scores – struggle more in areas that include externalizing behaviors like hyperactivity, inattentiveness and conduct problems. For teen girls – the subgroup with the second-worst scores – struggles were especially pronounced in more internal problems like anxiety and depression.

These results confirm an upward trend in student mental health concerns that began before the pandemic but was likely exacerbated by school shutdowns, social isolation and other child and family stressors brought on by COVID-19.

Additionally, we found these mental health screener scores – which we refer to as “difficulties scores” here – are linked in important ways to grades and attendance. That is to say, those who had lower grades and lower attendance were much more likely to have difficulties scores in the highest, most concerning range.

Among students with good attendance at the halfway point in the school year, only about 1 in 14 had a high difficulties score. But among students who were chronically absent at the halfway point, nearly 1 in 4 had a high difficulties score.

Similarly, students who earn some Cs in schools are three to four times more likely to have a high difficulties score compared with students earning all As and Bs – 19% vs. 6%, respectively.

As high scores on the mental health screener are predictive of specific types of mental health diagnoses – like anxiety, mood or conduct disorders – these results provide new insights into the complex relationships between mental health and school outcomes.

Why it matters
Children are struggling with mental health in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Various data sources have highlighted the increased rates of teen suicides, emergency room visits and anxiety and depression in school-age children. They are also struggling academically, while rates of chronic absenteeism continue to be higher than ever.

There are opportunities for schools to address these trends by providing school-based mental health services. These services include one-on-one counseling or therapy, case managers who can coordinate various services for students in need, and referrals to outside resources. And in fact, our research shows almost three-quarters of parents whose students use school-provided services are satisfied and find them helpful.

But many schools are not offering these supports – or at least, parents are unaware of them. Our study found that 59% of high-income respondents reported that mental health resources were available in their children’s schools, compared with 37% of low-income respondents. Yet low-income students are more likely to take up those supports when they are available. Over half of respondents from the lowest income group reported that their child made use of mental health services when available, compared with 11% of respondents from the highest income group.

There is considerable unmet student need for mental health supports, as 20% of parents whose children are in schools without such supports say they would use them if offered. These results suggest there is an opportunity for schools to invest in not only supplying mental health services, but ensuring they reach the students most in need.

What still isn’t known
While our research confirms important links between children’s mental health and their school outcomes, we do not yet know which is causing the other. For instance, some students may be staying home from school more because of anxiety and depression, while other students who miss school for illness or other reasons may develop anxiety over time as a result.

What’s next
For schools and families to address worsening child mental health and academic outcomes, researchers must seek to better understand the underlying causes of increasing mental health concerns and absenteeism in children. Research is also needed to explore differences in the relationship between mental health and school outcomes for different subgroups of students – by income level or by racial subgroups. This can potentially inform how schools to respond to problems that threaten student well-being.

The story was first published in The Conversation.