ActionSA welcomes the arrest of officials and service providers implicated in alleged fraud and corruption linked to school tenders and emergency repairs within the Mpumalanga Department of Education. The intervention by the Hawks is a necessary step toward accountability in a department that has for too long been associated with maladministration and abuse of public funds.
The reported scale of the alleged fraud of R114 million is deeply troubling. These are funds that should have been used to improve school infrastructure, safeguard learner safety, and support quality teaching and learning. Instead, corruption has once again denied learners, particularly in rural and under-resourced communities, the dignity and protection they are entitled to.
While ActionSA notes the Department’s stated commitment to zero tolerance on corruption, these arrests raise serious questions about governance and oversight under the current political leadership. Such large-scale irregularities do not occur in isolation and point to failures in internal controls, supply chain management, and consequence management.
The MEC for Education cannot simply condemn corruption after arrests have been made. Political accountability requires clear answers on how these irregularities were allowed to persist, what warning signs were ignored, and why decisive action was not taken sooner to prevent the loss of public funds.
ActionSA calls on the National Prosecuting Authority to pursue this matter thoroughly and without delay. Those found guilty must face the full consequences of the law, regardless of status or political affiliation.
Corruption in the education sector is particularly damaging because it directly undermines the future of our children. ActionSA will continue to use its oversight role to demand transparency, accountability, and real consequences. Arrests are an important step, but they must be followed by convictions, institutional reform, and political accountability to restore public trust.
ActionSA Welcomes Hawks’ Arrests as R114 Million Mpumalanga Education Fraud is Exposed
ActionSA welcomes the arrest of officials and service providers implicated in alleged fraud and corruption linked to school tenders and emergency repairs within the Mpumalanga Department of Education. The intervention by the Hawks is a necessary step toward accountability in a department that has for too long been associated with maladministration and abuse of public funds.
The reported scale of the alleged fraud of R114 million is deeply troubling. These are funds that should have been used to improve school infrastructure, safeguard learner safety, and support quality teaching and learning. Instead, corruption has once again denied learners, particularly in rural and under-resourced communities, the dignity and protection they are entitled to.
While ActionSA notes the Department’s stated commitment to zero tolerance on corruption, these arrests raise serious questions about governance and oversight under the current political leadership. Such large-scale irregularities do not occur in isolation and point to failures in internal controls, supply chain management, and consequence management.
The MEC for Education cannot simply condemn corruption after arrests have been made. Political accountability requires clear answers on how these irregularities were allowed to persist, what warning signs were ignored, and why decisive action was not taken sooner to prevent the loss of public funds.
ActionSA calls on the National Prosecuting Authority to pursue this matter thoroughly and without delay. Those found guilty must face the full consequences of the law, regardless of status or political affiliation.
Corruption in the education sector is particularly damaging because it directly undermines the future of our children. ActionSA will continue to use its oversight role to demand transparency, accountability, and real consequences. Arrests are an important step, but they must be followed by convictions, institutional reform, and political accountability to restore public trust.