DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho said, “Two months ago the DA launched an application in terms of the Public Access to Information Act requesting the reports which MEC Phanyaza Lesufi has been refusing to make public for months. The department’s refusal to release the report is on the basis of protecting the identity of third parties, and is concerning.”
Ramulifho added that while the DA appreciated the department’s concern about the safety of the people who uncovered the irregularities, the party maintained that it was in the public interest, especially those of parents and teachers at affected schools, to study the contents of these reports. He said fraud and corruption, if left unchecked, would have a severe impact on the quality of life and education of the province’s youth, and parents had the right to make informed choices about where their children should be educated.
In her response, education department spokesperson, Phumla Sekhonyane said the department couldn’t disclose the information as the Public Access to Information Act prohibited it. Sekhonyane said, “The information was supplied in confidence by a third party, and the disclosure would reveal the identity of the confidential sources of information in relation to the administration of the law.”
Ramulifho countered by saying that refusing to divulge the contents of forensic reports into fraud and corruption for spurious reasons, the department would open itself up to criticism, and the public perception that it was not serious about fraud and corruption in schools.
He vowed that the DA would continue to fight for transparency and would go to every length to expose wrongdoing in Gauteng’s schools.
