KwaZulu-Natal education minister Ina Cronje on Friday threatened legal action against the Inkatha Freedom Party’s Youth Brigade after it claimed a ”link” between Cronje’s husband and the company distributing stationery for the education department.
KwaZulu-Natal’s superintendent for education, Dr Cassius Lubisi said he would not comment on the issue.
At a press conference on Thursday the brigade called on KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sbu Ndebele to sack Cronje.
In its press statement, released on the same day, the IFPYB claimed that several schools had no water or sanitation and that the majority of matric pupils in the province had no text books.
”More damning, however, are reports we have received that the company Indiza had links with MEC Ina Cronje’s husband. We believe that the MEC has a case to answer with regards to Indiza,” the statement said.
It claimed that Indiza had failed to supply text books to matriculants.
However it did not elaborate when asked by the South African Press Association what these links were. The party’s youth brigade chairperson Thulasizwe Buthelezi said: ”It’s up to the press to find out. There are links, very strong links.”
He was not prepared to say what these ”links” were.
”We wouldn’t make such [allegations] without any evidence.”
Provincial education spokesperson Christi Naude said Indiza was not responsible for textbooks, but for stationery. She said a company called Edusolutions was responsible for the distribution of text books.
Five companies had bid for the tender to distribute the department’s textbooks and stationery.
”We have nothing to hide. The tender procedure was all above board,” she said.
Contacted on Thursday night Buthelezi maintained that Indiza was distributing textbooks.
Internet search engines described the website www.indiza.co.za as the: ”Total solution on procurement and supply of stationery to schools in KwaZulu-Natal.” The website itself however was a blank page.
Indiza Infrastructure Solutions managing director Jabulani Mabaso said on Friday he first heard of the IFPYB’s allegations on a radio news broadcast.
He was again informed of the statement during a meeting with the education department.
‘We are open to answering any questions. I haven’t even met the minister’s husband. I don’t know what he looks like.â€
Mabaso said that anybody making allegations would need to provide evidence. He said the company’s shareholders were listed with the KwaZulu-Natal treasury.
‘If they [the treasury] haven’t updated their database, then we will provide that information,†he said.
A call to the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office revealed that there was no Cronje listed as a director of the company. – Sapa