Gauteng MEC fumes over diluted fumigant

A military veteran’s refusal to mix a chemical fumigation concentrate with water to clean scholar transport in Ekurhuleni’s Katlehong township has raised the ire of Gauteng roads and transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo, who has instituted a probe into the incident.

A whistleblower alerted The Citizen to this week’s incident in which a supervisor “on instructions of government” asked a group of “about 18” military veterans to mix the concentrate with water.

Said the military veteran whistleblower, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals: “These are buses transporting children from informal settlements and outlying parts of Ekurhuleni to school.

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“At the back of Lethukuthula Secondary School in Katlehong’s Twala section – where the buses are parked – is where this happened.

“They give us five-litre bottles with a pump to spray the bus interior. We were surprised when our commander told us to mix the spraying fumigation concentrate with water.

“We refused to do so – putting the life of children at risk during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Asked for comment, Gauteng education department spokesman Steven Mabona referred inquiries to the provincial department of roads and transport.

Enraged by the whistleblower’s account, Mamabolo instituted a probe into the incident.

He confirmed 536 veterans were on the department’s payroll tasked with overseeing scholar transport.

“Due to what has been revealed, my department is going to send a team to start an investigation into the incident. The team will be reporting back to us on their findings.

“We cannot put the lives of our [pupils] at risk by providing a substandard sanitiser, something we are going to check with the department of education, responsible for procurement of the product.”

brians@citizen.co.za