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THREE Gauteng Department of Education officials are facing a disciplinary hearing following a report by the Special Investigating Unit into the awarding tenders worth R431 million.
The department has charged three senior managers over the use of funds for the decontamination and cleaning of schools in the province.
The charges were served as part of a process to implement recommendations received from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
The tender was meant to pay for sanitisation, decontamination, and deep cleaning of schools in Gauteng.
The senior officials fingered are Head of Supply Chain, Chief Director for Infrastructure Development, and Acting Director for Auxiliary Services.
The department’s spokesperson Steve Mabona said the hearings will start on 5 October.
Mabona said as investigations continue, there is possibility of more people being charged.
“It has been recommended that the Head of Supply Chain, Chief Director for Infrastructure Development, and Acting Director for Auxiliary Services be charged in accordance to the findings in the investigation report,” said Mabona.
“It is important to note that the GDE intends for this process to be facilitated by an independent body outside the department and, thus, has approached the Office of the State Attorney to assist. Even though we do not want to pre-judge the outcome of the disciplinary hearing, it is paramount to reiterate our position in this matter, that the officials who caused this expenditure, need to be taken to task.”
At the time, the Democratic Alliance called for Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, to take urgent special leave, pending the outcomes of SIU investigations into another scandal involving the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment.
In a statement, the DA said Makhura had failed to prevent the PPE corruption scandal, which allegedly happened under his watch.
The DA said the former Gauteng Health Department Chief Financial Officer, Kabelo Lehloenya, had implicated Makhura in the awarding of the multi-million PPE tenders, after she stated in an affidavit that Makhura gave her the names of the companies to appoint, supply and deliver PPEs in the province.
* Inside Education