Spend on administrator’s bodyguards slammed

‘North West education desperate for funding’

The department of basic education forked out R1.4m for bodyguards for the administrator to North West, following the slashing of the budget for pupil workbooks by a massive R71m.

Basic education minister Angie Motshekga appointed Nkhono Mohlala to stabilise teaching and learning activities in the province in July 2018, after President Cyril Ramaphosa placed 10 departments in the province, including education, under administration.

According to a report in the City Press (September 6), members of the provincial legislature wrote to the interministerial task team about the North West intervention, questioning the cost implications of the team of administrators and their staff.

Their concerns involved expenses incurred on hotel accommodation, protection services and subsistence and travel allowances.

Basic education department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga confirmed to Sowetan’s sister publication, Times Select that R1m had been spent on Mohlala’s private protection until January and that a further R411,000 had been budgeted for February to August.

He said Red Neo Security had been appointed for this period, after the contract of the previous company, G4S Secure Solutions, expired at the end of January.

“At the interministerial task team committee meeting on the North West province on October 9 2018 a decision was taken that individual ministers should put in place alternative security protection for their administrators,” Mhlanga said.

A report by the team dated August 16 2018 stated that security remained a serious risk for the intervention team, “who work until late daily”.

“The campus on which the operations of the team are housed does not provide for security personnel after hours,” the report stated.

Mohlala’s duties included: Ensuring sound financial, fiscal, budget, supply chain management and human resource management;

Ensuring sound management of conditional grants;

Strengthening the implementation, monitoring and evaluation oversight of curriculum management and delivery;

Ensuring timely school infrastructure provisioning, and the maintenance of existing infrastructure; and

Ensuring safe pupil transport provisioning for deserving school-goers.

While Mhlanga was adamant that the payment for Mohlala’s bodyguards was justified, the portfolio committee on basic education was informed of budgetary cuts to programmes during a parliamentary sitting on July 14.

Besides the R71m budget reduction for workbooks, members were informed that spending on some activities involving the “Second Chance Matric Programme” (SCMP) had also been curtailed.

Matakanye Matakanye, general secretary of the National Association of School Governing Bodies, described the spend on the administrator’s security as “totally unacceptable”.

Basil Manuel of teacher union Naptosa said: “It’s shocking that bodyguards would cost that much in a province that doesn’t have money to replace teachers.”