While opposition party members are adamant that KwaZulu-Natal education MEC Sipho Hlomuka should be removed from his position due to his alleged involvement in a school nutrition tender, members of the government of provincial unity have come out in support of him.
Hlomuka faces allegations of political interference and personal enrichment in the controversial R2.9bn National Schools Nutrition Programme tender.
He is alleged to have interfered with the tender processes to benefit his allies in the ANC. He has since been directly linked to it, after it emerged that a company registered to him in 2015 was among the beneficiaries of the tender issued by his department.
Hlomuka has admitted to registering the company in 2015 when he was not part of government, but said he relinquished his stake in it well before taking office and he is not aware of its current activities.
KZN premier Thami Ntuli has written to Hlomuka demanding answers and expressed his willingness to investigate the matter further, as has provincial finance MEC Francois Rodgers.
Those actions have not stopped calls for his removal from opposition parties in the legislature, the MK Party and the EFF.
The parties repeated these calls in their debate of the department’s 2025/26 budget on Tuesday.
The MK Party’s S’thembiso Hadebe said this scandal brought question marks about Hlomuka’s integrity.
“MEC Hlomuka, you are earning R2.215m per annum, what more do you want?”
“Is this the leadership we deserve? No! Is this the transparent and accountable leadership that is going to turn our education around? Again, the answer is simply ‘No!’”
He also questioned the leadership of the ANC, saying: “When does the step-aside rule work in the ANC? The ANC must accept that you are a disgrace, the people of KZN no longer trust you.”
Thobisile Nkosi of the EFF repeated the call for Hlomuka to “step-aside” until the investigation of the allegations against him is complete. She also expressed disappointment that premier Ntuli had not acted swiftly to remove Hlomuka when the allegations emerged.
We must remain measured and responsible in our reactions. While the allegations are serious, they must be thoroughly investigated and proven before conclusions are drawn
— Sakhile Mngadi from the DA
“This is a betrayal of people and voters of KZN and learners who depend on the school programme as their only guaranteed daily meal.”
GPU partners IFP and the DA conceded that the allegations were concerning, but condemned the opposition for politicising this matter.
Mncedisi Maphisa of the IFP commended Hlomuka for touching on the NSNP programme in his budget speech, when he confirmed that the programme had been allocated R2.33bn in this financial year, and said they would not use this matter for posturing.
“As the portfolio committee, we are not people who grandstand with issues. We discuss matters when they are brought to the attention of the portfolio committee, obviously exercising our oversight role that is in the mandate that we are given.”
Sakhile Mngadi from the DA said the allegations were “deeply unsettling” and “cast a shadow” over the programme, but emphasised the need for a thorough investigation before drawing conclusions.
“We must remain measured and responsible in our reactions. While the allegations are serious, they must be thoroughly investigated and proven before conclusions are drawn,” he said.
He also highlighted that operational decisions and procurement processes fall under the purview of the department’s accounting officer Nkosinathi Ngcobo and pointed out that the department had long-standing administrative failings that suggested they are systemic.
“Yet this moment must not be treated as one of scapegoating MEC Sipho Hlomuka, but rather of comprehensive reform.”
Mngadi, however, urged the provincial government to be proactive in dealing with any perception of impropriety and not protect individuals at the expense of public trust.
He said government must use the legislation outlined in the Public Finance Management Act and the constitution to investigate the matter.
“Should evidence confirm that any official or political leader abused this trust, then the implicated person must account to Treasury and the premier on the matter. Should these allegations be substantiated, then the legislature will rightfully expect the premier to act decisively to restore the credibility of the DoE. But let us be clear: we are not at that point yet.”
He said the calls from the MK Party for Hlomuka’s dismissal were “premature” and accused the official opposition of grandstanding on this issue.
“[Those calls from MKP] are nothing but political gimmicks to bluff the public into believing that the MK Party is actually doing something about it. The MEC's immediate removal would not only disrupt the DoE’s stability but also risk politicising a process that must remain rooted in facts and due process. That is the position of the DA. We trust that the investigation will have outcomes based on facts,” he said.
“We will use that report to chart a way forward and — should wrongdoing be found at any level — the GPU must deal with that person decisively.”
He added that the allegations had emerged from external sources, not from the opposition, and they would not have been exposed if the MK Party was in power.
He said the party has been ineffective as the opposition
“It has brought no credible policy, no meaningful oversight and no motion of consequence to the KZN legislature. Instead, its role has been reduced to performance politics: slogans without solutions, rage without results.”
“The KZN’s GPU members have chosen a different path — a difficult, sometimes uncomfortable path, but one guided by accountability and constitutionalism. This is what ethical coalition governance looks like. MEC, my concerns — as public as they have been — are not personal they are in the interests of our collective mandate to create a capable and ethical state.”
Meanwhile, education minister Siviwe Gwarube has also written to the department demanding answers to the allegations against Hlomuka.
Ngcobo said on Wednesday that the department will respond to Gwarube and Ntuli.
He refuted the allegations of any misconduct during the tendering process, saying it had been above board and followed all procurement processes.
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