DA: Sadtu leaders must account to Parliament over ‘Jobs for Cash’ findings

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday that it wants the leadership of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) to answer the “damning findings” against it in the long-awaited “Jobs for Cash” report.

This comes after a task team appointed by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to probe the scandal found irregularities in the appointment of teachers in six provinces.

The DA’s Gavin Davis said he had written to the chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Basic Education to ask her to summon the union’s leaders “at the first available opportunity”.

He singled out Sadtu president Magope Maphila who “must account…for his union’s role in the ‘Jobs for Cash’ bribery and corruption racket”.

 “In particular‚ he must commit to taking action against all Sadtu members implicated and put in place measures to prevent the buying and selling of teachers’ posts in the future‚” said Davis.

“Sadtu has consistently claimed that it has not been given a chance to state its case. We therefore expect that Mr Maphila will welcome the opportunity to appear before the Portfolio Committee to do just that‚” said Davis.

He commended Motshekga “for establishing the task team and finally releasing the…report in the face of Sadtu pressure”‚ but said he would ask her for “an indication of when we can expect the ‘Jobs for Cash’ report to be tabled in Parliament‚ as she has promised”.

 “It is crucial for the Portfolio Committee to discuss and deliberate on the 16 recommendations contained in the final report‚ since these could have far-reaching consequences for our education system.

“She now needs to ensure that action is taken against the individual Sadtu members implicated‚ as well as the Sadtu leadership who allowed this corruption to happen under its watch.”