Ventersdorp principal and circuit manager in court for allegedly selling teaching jobs

A principal from Ventersdorp is in the hot seat after being charged with five counts of corruption.

Lydia Masiu, 53, was joined by fellow accused, circuit manager Petrus Mokobe, 63, at Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after allegedly selling teaching posts at local schools.

Paying for posts in instalments

Hawks spokesperson in the North West, Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula said the pair were arrested by members of the Hawks serious corruption investigation unit in Klerksdorp and Ventersdorp on Monday, after an investigation into allegations of corruption in the appointment of school teachers in Ventersdorp.

“Investigations revealed that Masiu, the school principal in Ventersdorp and Mokobe, the circuit manager in Ventersdorp, allegedly solicited gratification from the complainants in exchange for teacher posts in the local schools,” Mathebula said.

Two complainants reportedly paid the accused amounts adding up to R15 000 in instalments of between R2 000 and R5 000.

Following an investigation, a warrant of arrest was issued and executed for the pair.

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Bail granted to both

They appeared in court and were granted bail of R8 000 each. Their case was postponed to 6 September 2024 for further investigation.

The North West Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Major General Patrick Mbotho and the Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, Dr Rachel Makhari lauded the work from the investigation and prosecution team.

They have vowed to continue collaborating in the fight against corruption in the North West.

GDE teaching assistants dropped by department

This comes at a time when several thousand teaching assistants are seeing their chance of permanent employment cruelly taken from them.

Originally part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI), 32,000 temporary employees were absorbed by the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) under the now-failing Nasi iSpani banner.

Running low on alternatives, the former teaching assistants wrote letters to the department and President Cyril Ramaphosa, sharing their personal circumstances.

Additional reporting by Jarryd Westerdale.