‘How do you go to work without taxi fare?’: Learner Support Agents go months without pay

Gauteng Department of Education Learner Support Agents have not been paid for two months, leaving many desperate and unable to pay for food, toiletries or transport to work.

One of the employees based at Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance (MGSLG) told The Citizen it had been two months since getting paid.

“We haven’t been paid for August and September. No communication is being done by our superiors,” she said.

‘How do you report to work when you have no taxi fare?’

The LSA employee further explained how it has been a struggle living without pay for the past two months.

“We can’t make ends meet and are expected to go to work without basic stuff like groceries and toiletries.

“This has not only affected us but those who also depend on us financially. I am a single mother and haven’t paid my funeral cover, if anything should happen, I wouldn’t know what to do,” she said.

She said other employees, who reside far from their workplace, were unable to report for work due to lack of transport funds.

“We expected to report to work every day and not question what is due to us. I mean how do you report to work while you owe your landlord, have no groceries, or don’t have taxi fare?”

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Salary irregularities

The Chief Executive Officer of the institution, Sibusiso Mahlangu said the delay in paying salaries was due to irregularities identified when processing the August payments.

“The verification process to address these irregularities took longer than expected, highlighting the extent and scale of the issues that needed to be resolved,” he said.

The matter is being addressed urgently to prevent delays in the future.

“MGSLG is working tirelessly to ensure that all outstanding, legitimate payments are processed today [Wednesday],” he said.

Systems under review

Mahlangu said that forensic auditors are actively reviewing their system to eliminate irregular payments and make them on time.

“We aim to ensure that all payments are made accurately and on time moving forward. We are confident that once the recommendations from the forensic review are implemented, these challenges will be resolved permanently.”

Additionally, he said, the MGSLG plans to meet with the LSAs in the following week to apologise to those affected.

“We plan to meet with all LSAs within the next week to personally apologise, conduct physical verifications, and provide a clear outline of the steps we are taking to improve our processes.

“MGSLG deeply values the important role LSAs play in supporting schools and learners across the province, and we are committed to ensuring that this essential program continues without disruption. We greatly appreciate their dedication and patience during this time and are doing everything possible to resolve this issue swiftly and fairly,” he concluded.

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