R10m spent on education audits - report

Johannesburg - The Gauteng education department has not "blown millions on audits" because forensic audits are instruments to deal with the misuse of public funds, MEC Panyaza Lesufi said on Thursday.

"Over and above this exercise being a statutory obligation, the investigations are done in the spirit of protecting taxpayers' money," Lesufi said in a statement.

"We are committed to clean governance, transparency and oversight and we will comply with any request that will not have an adverse effect on service delivery and the provision of quality education to all learners in Gauteng."

The department noted with concern a report in The Star that suggested its efforts aimed at rooting out corruption and maladministration were a waste of money.

The Star reported on Thursday that at least R10m was spent a year on forensic investigations, fraud detection reviews and tender compliance reviews by the Gauteng education department.

Lesufi reportedly indicated that the department conducted 159 audits in the past five years, while 29 principals had been implicated in wrongdoing. This emerged during a debate in the Gauteng legislature.

Findings against schools this year included governance and financial mismanagement, non-compliance with policies, lack of evidence for expenditure, and tender irregularities.

The newspaper reported that the forensic audits were kept hidden from the public, and not even the schools were allowed to access them.

Responding to the report, Lesufi said the department's work needed to be seen in the context that it had a responsibility to investigate any allegations of corruption or mismanagement that came to its attention through various channels.

He said various pieces of legislation obliged the department directly or indirectly to investigate, take action and put in place controls to ensure the money allocated to schools to fund curriculum delivery was prudently managed.

According to The Star report, during the debate, Democratic Alliance MPL Khume Ramulifho accused Lesufi of protecting fraudsters and corrupt officials.

"School governing bodies which exposed these financial irregularities are being dissolved and are denied access to these reports," he said.

"The MEC is quick to dissolve SGBs but takes no action against the real offenders."

Lesufi said he would try to ensure that perpetrators faced the consequences.

On Thursday Lesufi said he was disappointed with what seemed to be double standards on corruption.

"It is unfortunate that the Democratic Alliance are the ones complaining about a process aimed at strengthening accountability, transparency, and financial prudence," Lesufi said.