School principals in spotlight as fed up South Africans blow whistle on corruption

The public in South Africa are increasingly intolerant of corruption and the abuse of power by those in positions of leadership and are more willing to hold them to account - especially at schools.

This is according to Corruption Watch’s latest Corruption Report.

During 2016 a total of 4‚391 reports of corruption were received‚ a substantial increase on previous years since the organisation was launched in 2012.

This amounts to an average of 11 reports a day‚ compared to seven in 2015.

The most prevalent types of corruption reported in 2016 centre on the abuse of power‚ followed by bribery and procurement corruption.

The hotspots of corruption‚ as assessed by the complaints received‚ were related to corruption in schools at 16%‚ followed by 7% of reports involving road traffic corruption incidents‚ with 6% of reports focused on licensing and immigration-related matters.

A total of 1‚431 complaints from members of the public about corruption in schools were received.

In most cases‚ school principals are the primary culprits involved in misusing school funds and resources.

Corruption Watch highlighted the problems in public schools across the country as:

- School procurement policies and procedures are misunderstood by school officials and parents;

- Provincial departments of education do not have adequate systems in place to monitor the use/misuse of school funds;

- There are no proper mechanisms in place to report corruption in schools to the authorities;

- The training of school governing body (SGB) members is inadequate and sporadic;

- Parental involvement in issues of school governance is low; and

- Consequences for perpetrators are minimal. Often‚ principals or school officials who have been implicated in the mismanagement of finances are rotated to other schools where the graft will continue.

In 2016‚ Corruption Watch conducted capacity building workshops targeted at SGBs in Limpopo‚ Eastern Cape and North West provinces.

“Our reports and engagements have indicated that the reason some principals are able to abuse school finances is because of the lack of training of SGB members. It is often the case that parents and representatives are unaware of their roles and responsibilities when serving on the SGB‚ and this allows culprits to abuse school resources without being detected‚” it said.

David Lewis‚ executive director of Corruption Watch‚ commented: “2016 was the year in which South Africans decisively and publicly rejected corruption. From ordinary voters and community members through to leading public officials and cabinet ministers‚ there was a groundswell of opposition to corruption and its perpetrators. But the fight is not over by any means.

The future of our country rests on our ability to maintain and intensify the pressure exerted in 2016.”