Chaos reigned supreme at Uoane Primary School in Mamelodi East on Monday morning as irate parents toyi-toyied at the gate of the school demanding the immediate expulsion of the School Governing Body (SGB).
This as they and the former principal of the school Tlhole, who has since resigned, are implicated in money chowing activities at the school.
The parents were supported by civic movement Soil of Africa.
Principal Tlhole apparently resigned to avoid facing the money-chowing scandal and the focus of the parents at the moment is to get rid of the SGB members, especially the Treasurer and the Deputy Chairperson.
It was revealed that the former principal and the SGB members used the funds of the school for their own benefit.
Allegations emerged that the school’s ATM card was used to swipe for liquor at the local Senabe pub, meat at the Roots butchery as well as at Uitkyk, data, iphones, clothes and that some SGB members and several teachers even went on vacation last year using the funds of the school.
The SAPS and the local Community Policing Forum (CPF) members were also at the school to monitor the volatile situation.
It has also emerged that the Gauteng Department of Education has sent emails of suspension to the current SGB members on 14 August this year, but be that as it may the parents don’t believe that this is true.
Concerned parent Flora Tloubatla told Tshwane Talks that they learned about the money-chowing activities of the principal and some members of the SGB in January this year via the chairperson of the SGB, who was often sidelined when SGB meetings were convened.
“R28 000 was withdrawn from the bank account of the school in December last year, of which R20 000 was shared among teachers and the remaining R8000 was used by the Deputy Chairperson of the SGB while on holiday last year in December,” said Tloubatla.
She said parents took a decision to get the now-resigned principal and the implicated SGB members arrested and expelled on 27 July this year regarding their money-chowing activities and as the officials of the Department of Education are dilly-dallying in implementing the decision of the parents, they have roped in the services of civic movement Soil of Africa to come and help them get rid of all people who are implicated in this money-chowing scandal.
Tloubatla also revealed that parents have stopped making weekly R5 donations to the school as they are concerned that the SGB Treasurer and the Deputy Chairperson of the SGB would chow the said donations.
She further complained that the chairperson of the SGB was one of the signatories regarding the bank account of the school but he was not allowed to carry out this responsibility as the principal and the Treasurer were the ones doing this task.
Tloubatla said she has six children attending the Uoane Primary School and that their children had been told that the R5 weekly donations were for “casual day” while they as parents were told that the weekly R5 donations were for doing repairs at the school and also hiring more labourers at the school.
She lamented that the toilets of the school are dirty, the yard of the school is neglected and the swimming pool of the school has not been in working condition for many years, yet the principal and some members of the SGB took a vacation and used the last amounts available in the bank account of the school.
According to Tloubatla, “the bank account of the school stands at zero-zero at the moment.”
The parents are amazed that Mam Mafoko still wants to give training to SGB members because as far as they as parents are concerned, all SGB members have been fired.
“As Soil of Africa we are going to stand with the community and fight against corruption because we are the voice of the voiceless and the SGB will be disbanded and replaced by a new one, and the resigned principal Tlhole, who is said to be at another school at the moment, must be suspended from all education activities,” said Soil of Africa Regional Convener Joseph Maake.
“It is very sad that money that is supposed to uplift the school is used at pubs and we say this is nonsense and the education department must introduce a system whereby the funds of the school can be traced diligently to uncover corrupt activities,” fumed Maake.
It is suspected that some officials of the education department are in cahoots with the implicated principal and members of the SGB.
Ward Committee member Judy Bapela insisted that the funds of the school have been chowed and lamented the fact that education officials like one Mr Tloubatla are still reluctant to get rid of the implicated principal and some members of the SGB, especially the Treasurer and the Deputy Chairperson of the SGB.
In response to Tshwane Talks Gauteng Department of education spokesperson Steve Mabona said the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) is aware about the allegations of mismanagement of funds at the above-mentioned school.
Accordingly, the matter is under investigation among others a financial review, will be conducted.
Implicated individuals have been suspended until further notice.
“The Department is committed to clean governance, transparency, and oversight and we will deal with any threats that will impact negatively on service delivery and the provision of quality education to all learners in Gauteng.
We plead with parents not to disrupt schooling and wish to remind them that such is a criminal offence”, said Mabona.