The Gauteng Department of Education (GED) has spent more than R186 million over a five-year period on management handling fees for Early Childhood Development, which does not add any value to children’s development in Gauteng.
This was revealed by the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) MEC, Matome Chiloane, in a written reply to the Democratic Alliance (DA) questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL). See reply here.
According to MEC Chiloane, the management handling fee covers warehouse and distribution expenditures. When asked why the department was not carrying out this duty in-house, the MEC stated that GDE does not have the capacity to provide warehousing and distribution services.
These management handling fees were paid to one company appointed through an open tender, Bongani Rainmaker Logistics.
The amounts paid per financial year are as follows:
2019/20 R13 018 689.20
2020/21 R40 271 967.9
2021/22 R36 450 850.51
2022/23 R61 131 196.60
2023/24 R35 306 357.44
Total: R186 179 061
The massive money spent alone on warehousing and delivery is shocking and raises many concerns. In a climate with budget constraints in the education sector, one would expect the department to be able to spend wisely on things that benefit our children rather than paying the so-called management handling fee.
Many of our schools suffer a variety of challenges, including deteriorating infrastructure, overcrowding due to shortage of classrooms, and inadequate sanitation facilities. Furthermore, some leaners are still being taught in dangerous asbestos classrooms, which pose a risk to their health. The money GDE threw at one company for something that might have been insourced would have gone a long way toward fixing some of these problems.
It is high time that taxpayers’ money is spent responsibly and for the benefit of our children. Those who oversee inefficiency and waste must be held accountable for squandering public funds into irrelevant initiatives.
Where the DA governs, there is no room for outsourcing and spending on things a department can and should be able to do. In the Western Cape Government, the Department of Education excels in maximising available budgets so that quality education is delivered to every child, in every classroom, in every school.
The DA will not rest until we get clear answers from this obvious misuse of public funds. The DA will be writing to the Public Protector, requesting an immediate investigation into this highly questionable cost.