NEHAWU Mpumalanga Welcomes The Outcome Of The Investiagation Conducted By The Office of The Premier Into The Procurement of Laptops By The Department of Education
Tuesday May 13, 2025
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in Mpumalanga welcomes the findings of the investigation conducted by the Premier of Mpumalanga, Mandla Ndlovu, into the Department of Education's exorbitant procurement of 22 laptops and a printer.
The report, which was tabled on 06 May 2025 and approved by the Executive Committee, indicates that there was a serious breach of the Public Finance Management Act in the procurement of 22 laptops by the supplier and relevant officials, costing the Mpumalanga Provincial Government more than R2 million. This was also evidenced by the misrepresentation of facts by the implicated officials and the service provider concerning the amount paid for the 22 laptops.
The union calls for the implementation of all the recommendations adopted by EXCO as a remedial measure. Furthermore, we would like to urge all our members and public servants in the province to always remain principled in executing their work in accordance with all rules and regulations applicable to the public service. Precisely because a capable, ethical, and developmental state is dependent on patriotic citizens and public servants.
While we welcome the findings of the investigation and the decision taken by the provincial government, we would like to urge the provincial government to ensure that the principle of natural justice prevails in the handling of this matter and that the said employees are not used as scapegoats in this laptop saga while the real beneficiaries of such abuses remain untouched and unchallenged in the processes.
NEHAWU wishes to remind the Provincial Government and the Provincial Department of Education of the allegations of victimisation of employees within the Supply Chain Directorate, this call was made by the union during the financial year 2023/2024, which the Department refuted following the unscrupulous and biased investigation and findings received in November 2023, to which the union objected.
We call on the MEC of the Department of Education, Cathy Dlamini, to ensure that the findings of the inter-sectoral crime prevention meeting and the demands raised by workers in the memorandum handed over to the former MEC on 16 April 2024 in White Hazy Circuit are implemented. The submission of the memorandum followed the attack on workers and theft of their belongings in schools while on duty on 10 April 2024.
We further call on the Department of Education to expedite the implementation of the DPSA directive of 03 December 2024 in terms of PSCBC Resolution 3 of 1999 regarding the retrospective payment of allowances to all non-teaching staff in boarding and other residential public schools to ensure that our members receive their dues and that they are not disadvantaged in the process.
We have noted with great concern the delays in the publication of the results of the National Sexual Offenders Register, which disadvantage our members, as the internal promotional posts require the applicant to have the said results. We therefore call on both the Department of Education and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to work together to ensure that the issues causing such delays are resolved.
Finally, we remain committed to our call for anti-corruption, safety and security of our members, improved safe working conditions and the provision of working resources, the filling of vacant funded positions, fighting against austerity, improved infrastructure development plan, and the provision of safe scholar transport for all deserving learners in the province.
END
Issued by NEHAWU Mpumalanga Secretariat
For more information please contact Welcome Mnisi (Provincial Secretary) at 082 455 2897 or email welcome@nehawu.org.za or
Gift Maseko (Provincial Deputy Secretary) at 063 685 3461 or email gift@nehawu.org.za Visit https://www.nehawu.org.za
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