Gwarube says visit to troubled KZN Education ‘not a magic wand’

The minister and Premier Thami Ntuli will lead an all-of-government meeting to explore a financial turnaround plan.  

She says the purpose is to help the embattled department meet its obligations.

“There is no legal and financial instrument for a provincial education department to be bailed out. And so, really, the way in which this can be resolved is for the province to be assisted in one way, by paying its debt. 

“Number two, in ensuring that they meet the obligations, and more importantly, things like scholar transport, school and nutrition, things that learners cannot go without and transfers to schools are done.”

Provincial Treasury and Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka will also attend the meeting. 

Gwarube's urgent visit follows growing concern that the department is sliding deeper into financial trouble ahead of the final matric exams, which are less than a month away.

The crisis worsened in August when the provincial Treasury placed the department under administration after allegations that officials had manipulated procurement processes in awarding National School Nutrition Programme tenders. 

Earlier this month, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts was told that no one's been held accountable for more than a billion rand in historic, unauthorised spending at the department.

Treasury also reported that during the 2023/24 financial year, the department recorded unauthorised expenditure of around R63 million and is projected to overspend by R1.4 billion in 2025. 

Gwarube says the challenges threaten the province’s ability to deliver quality learning and teaching.

“I don't want to create the impression that somehow my visit here is going to be a magic wand. Turning around the finances of a department takes a long time, but it also takes some difficult decisions that need to be made. And this is why we are here to say to the department, these are some of the tough calls you are going to have to make to really look after the integrity of the system.”

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