DA cries foul over education wastage

The Education Department in the Waterberg District came under fire this week when it was revealed that it will fund a strategic planning session at the Marekele Game Reserve in Thabazimbi next week, but at the same time is unable to pay its telephone bills.
According to Desiree van der Walt, the DA Limpopo Education spokesperson the department’s telephone lines were suspended three months ago due to non-payment.
“There are no fax machines or even basic office equipment such as staples and pens and [even] photocopiers have broken down,” she wrote in a statement this week.
The DA is in possession of a memo that invites a total of 19 officials ranging from sub-directorate heads, circuit managers, district managers and their deputies to stay at the Game reserve from 10 to 13 December.
The accommodation at this game reserve ranges from R439 a night to
R4 270 a night per person, excluding food and beverages. “We are not opposed to holding a strategic planning session per se but it can be held at a much cheaper place where officials can commute to everyday.
This is particularly imperative because our education system is crumbling due to lack of finances,” said van der Walt.
“We will be writing an urgent letter to the administrator of Limpopo Provincial Education Mzwandile Matthews to ask him to stop this wasteful expenditure and to explain why telephone bills have not been paid.” 
Northern News contacted the provincial department’s spokesperson, Pat Kgomo, on Tuesday who was willing to respond to the statement in writing, but failed to do so before the paper went to print on Wednesday.