EduSolutions money in the spotlight
JACQUES PAUW
The Hawks and the State Security Agency have launched a wide-ranging probe into EduSolutions, the controversial company supplying textbooks to at least four provincial education departments.
Two independent sources have confirmed to City Press that the Hawks investigation centres on how EduSolutions obtained their textbook contract in Limpopo.
Investigators are also looking into allegations that officials were bribed.
City Press has also been told that the State Security Agency (SSA) is probing transactions allegedly made by Shaun Battlemann, founder of EduSolutions, involving millions of rands from South Africa to Dubai.
EduSolutions, whose contract to procure and supply books to Limpopo was cut earlier this year, is being investigated by three separate task teams – including one appointed by President Jacob Zuma.
The presidential task team, headed by deputy finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, called in the SSA after it received information about the alleged transfer of millions between South Africa and Dubai, sources said.
Battlemann, the politically-connected kingpin in a multi-billion rand empire called African Access Holdings which was built largely on massive state tenders, frequently travels to Dubai.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel McIntosh Polela said the task team was investigating several departments in the Limpopo province.
‘It’s too early to give names of government officials and directors of private companies who are the subject of investigations,’ he said.
SSA spokesperson Brian Dube would not elaborate on the agency’s investigations, but said: “The SSA does have a mandate to work with other law enforcement agencies in fighting organised crime and corruption.”
Treasury spokesperson Phumza Macanda referred City Press to the Presidency, which did not respond to requests for comment.
Battlemann, through his lawyer, denied that he had transferred such large amounts to Dubai and said the allegations were not true and that City Press had been “misled”.
He said he was co-operating fully with representatives from the task team and added that it was “critical for government and for society to know and understand the causes of the non-delivery and delay in delivering textbooks and other material to schools in Limpopo”.
The presidential task team is working closely with the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) that is investigating more than twenty Limpopo government officials over alleged irregularities in textbook and other educational tenders worth hundreds of millions of rands.
The presidential task team is due to report back to Zuma within the next two weeks and its findings could impact on basic education minister Angie Motshekga’s future position.
Policy implementation represents the stage where government executes an adopted policy as specified by the legislation or policy action. At this stage, various government agencies and departments, accountable for the respective area of policy, are formally made responsible for implementation. Policy implementation is a major issue in South Africa despite having a constitution which is widely applauded for being the best. Policy regulations are there, however, they are ineffective. Since 1994, South Africa has demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting the interests of the citizens of the country, and in being the “voice” of the continent internationally; the government has implemented various policy projects and programmes. South Africa’s “African Agenda” has supported the idea that there can be no peace without development, and no development without peace. So there is a clear policy thrust running through South Africa’s agenda.
The idea of free education for all is close to a dream. The quest for free education in South Africa has been seen as far from being a reality. Yes! South Africa is characterised by a history of apartheid and triumphal democratization, however, public education should be a fundamental agenda of the government. What happened to historical ideals of free and compulsory education? Levels of poverty are increasing and schools in townships and rural areas still have lack of facilities, and now these school kids don’t have books? Free and compulsory education has been a policy issue that the government is still implementing, and the key questions are; when will this be implemented? Why the dream of free education, which was promised in 1994, was never realised, why thousands of job opportunities were never created and why government is failing to combat poverty and joblessness? We are flooded with bad news – from government blunders, political scandal and corruption, to this mess they call “service delivery”. If the truth be told, even the Constitution as adopted in May 1996 (and first amended in October 1996), reinforced free education. Section 29(1) of the Constitution states: Everyone has the right -(a) to basic education, including adult basic education; and (b) to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible.
Departments consist of officials that are not skilled. The government uses consultants, which costs a lot of money. While policy has been clearly defined, especially since 1999, there remain some serious policy loopholes that South Africa would need to fill in order to operationalize policy more effectively in practice. In the next few years the African National Congress (ANC) led government needs to continue the task of giving direction to policy goals, and implementing policies. The country should go beyond relying on infusing tactical direction into policy processes, and backing it up with financial resources, as well as developing a strong unit of professional’s that can help put in place strategies, which will assist in implementation.