The weeding out of apparent corruption in the Gauteng education department was to blame for textbook order delays for the 2008 school year, Gauteng minister of education Angie Motshekga said on Tuesday.
”We had our own internal challenges … We were delayed in placing orders,” she said at a media briefing in central Johannesburg about the department’s readiness for the 2008 school year.
”It’s our problem,” she said.
Motshekga said an investigation — which included police involvement — was under way into what appeared to be a price-fixing scandal.
Service providers were apparently told by certain officials within the department to place orders with companies that were often more expensive than others.
”We got to a situation where we spent huge amounts of money but we were still not able to have a book in front of every child.”
Motshekga said three officials had since left the department and new people had been brought in.
”We are changing people. We are investigating the whole unit. We have brought in fresh people. We are relying on the help of the law.”
Motshekga also said ”systematic problems” had contributed to textbook order delays.
The department had needed to narrow the catalogue of textbooks being ordered so as to be more cost-effective.
”We rationalised the ordering of books”, Motshekga said.
The department had caught up with 70% of the orders.
She said that by the end of next week, 95% of the orders should be completed and by the end of January, all textbooks orders would be fulfilled.
All stationary was already provided for.
”All children will have pens and books to write in on day one. The challenge is the textbooks.
”[However], these delays will not affect the first day of teaching,” she said. — Sapa