Indiza Motswedi and allegations of non-delivery by National Teachers' Union
(NATU)
24 January 2007
The Department awarded a contract for the delivery of stationery to schools
to a joint venture, namely Indiza Motswedi. The invoices that we have received
for payment only reflect one entity of the joint venture, namely Indiza, which
is a different legal entity. If the Department pays on the existing invoices we
would be rendering ourselves liable to claims, and we would also be in breach
of the Public Finance Management Act and Treasury Regulations, as such payments
would be irregular in terms of Government Procedures. The matter is currently
with our attorneys and we regret the fact that Indiza has chosen to put
pressure on us through the media as this now forces us to respond through the
media to set the record straight. We reiterate that Indiza Motswedi was awarded
the tender for the delivery of stationery and not for text books. The contract
for the delivery of text books was awarded to Edu Solutions, a completely
different entity and has nothing to do with the current dispute.
According to our records our schools have received their core stationery,
namely exercise books and writing materials. The outstanding stationery is
non-core items such as wall maps and the like. Learning and teaching is
therefore not affected by the current dispute. However, if there are schools
that have not received their core stationery we appeal to those schools to
contact us through our hotline on 0800 204 353 or the office of the MEC on
(033) 355 2450 or fax (033) 394 0893. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure
that our schools function normally.
The allegations of non-delivery by NATU through the media are regrettable as
it is a broad generalisation without any specific detail. We invite NATU to
supply us with specifics as a matter of urgency so that we can verify the
information in the interest of our children. We appeal to all concerned not to
resort to point scoring and cheap propaganda but to assist us with accurate
information where it exists.
Ina Cronje, MEC for Education, KwaZulu-Natal
Issued by: Department of Education, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Government
24 January 2007
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