GDE R432 million PPE scandal report must be made public to ensure accountability

27 January 2023

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is demanding that the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane make public the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) R432 million Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) corruption report to ensure accountability.

This will ensure that officials and politicians implicated in this corruption scandal are held accountable and are made to pay back every cent stolen from the department.

The DA has been reliably informed that the report has been handed over to MEC Chiloane and instead of making it public, he is still keeping it in his office.

The fact that the MEC is keeping the report raises suspicions that he might be trying to shield his comrades that are implicated, or he is playing a delay tactic.

This money which was meant to decontaminate schools and ensure the safety of learners during the Covid-19 pandemic was looted over three months.

The report contains detailed information on how the money was looted and exposes the culprits.

The Auditor General (AG) probed this matter and the department promised that the report will be finalised by September last year.

The DA also tabled questions to the former MEC, now the Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, who indicated in his response that the report will be finalised by October last year. However, to date, the report has not been made public.

The DA will write to MEC Chiloane and demand that he releases the report within 14 working days. Should he fail to release the report, we will use the Promotion of Access to Information Act to force him to make the report public.

If there is nothing that he is hiding, MEC Chiloane will abide by the DA’s demands and release the report within 14 working days.

Issued by Khume Ramulifho, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, 27 January 2023