Sack and arrest officials involved in ‘jobs for cash’ saga‚ report recommends
The ministerial task team that investigated the jobs-for-cash scandal has recommended that responsible officials be sacked and arrested.
In a 285-page report on the scandal released on Friday night‚ the panel has recommended among others that criminal cases must be opened against officials who have been fingered by complainants.
It recommended that "the illegal action by educators identified by the MTT be reported to SAPS for further action and that the Minister engages her counterpart in the police to dedicate resources to this category of cases to ensure fair and expeditious resolution".
The panel found that education officials‚ members of the teachers’ trade union SADTU and school governing body members had acted irregularly in the appointment of principals and teachers in six provinces since 2014.
In some incidents officials were paid R30‚000 to appoint a principal and livestock and R6‚000 to appoint a teacher. "In one case‚ a senior district official acted improperly in support of the promotion of a friend. In none of the cases was action taken in respect of the findings.
This is a clear violation terms of section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act‚" the report states.
The panel also suggested that disciplinary action be taken against those officials who had the responsibility to check acts of corruption but failed to do so.
It also suggested that the powers of school governing bodies to make recommendations for the appointment of post level 2 and above be taken away and that the South African Schools Act and the Employment of Educators Act be amended to reflect this.
''The appointment process including advertising‚ interviewing of candidates and appointments could be conducted by panels with at least one professional and independent person who is not from the school community. The governing body should not play any role in the appointment process other than an advisory role."
- Read the full report here