‘Jobs for Cash’ – Report must be brought to Parliament

24 March 2016

The DA notes Minister Motshekga’s commitment today to publicly release the ‘Jobs for Cash’ report on 15 April 2016.

This follows the DA’s call yesterday for Minister Motshekga to commit to clear timeframes for the release of the report, once and for all.

The ‘Jobs for Cash’ report promises to expose the core problem at the heart of our education system: the capture of provincial education departments by SADTU. This has enabled SADTU to operate with impunity in those provinces, at a huge cost to the education of disadvantaged learners.

The DA is concerned, however, that there is no mention in today’s ministerial statement with regards to Parliament’s role in the process. This stands in contrast to a ministerial statement released on 17 December that stated: 

“I need to add that the Report will be taken to Cabinet and Parliament for consideration.” 

We trust the failure to include Parliament is an error on the part of the Minister’s office, and that Minister Motshekga has every intention of tabling the report for discussion and deliberation in Parliament.

Parliament has a crucial role to play in this process because any executive action flowing from the ‘Jobs for Cash’ will need to stand up to parliamentary oversight and scrutiny. 

I have therefore written to Minister Motshekga to request that she commits to tabling the report in Parliament so that it can be fully discussed and debated before any recommendations are implemented.

Issued by Gavin Davis, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, 24 March 2016