Cape Town - The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has 30 days to decide on whether it will, at last, make public the findings of a forensic investigation into financial mismanagement at Golden Grove Primary School in Rondebosch.
If the department refuses to release it by then, ANC MPL Khalid Sayed said he will pursue further legal action to compel its release.
Two Golden Grove Primary school staffers, who have since retired, were implicated in financial mismanagement after parents and student governing body (SGB) members in 2017 reported irregularities and suspicions of financial mismanagement of around R1.3 million.
Sayed has on more than one occasion, including in the legislature, requested the forensic report be made available for the public to see, after education MEC Debbie Schäfer announced that there were indeed several transgressions identified against two individuals.
Sayed on Monday made a Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) application to see the report.
“Parents need the report so that the outcomes can actually be implemented and the money recovered.
“The school is a public institution and uses public funds.
“We will wait the 30 days to see whether the report will be released. If it is not, we will launch a further legal challenge on behalf of parents,” Sayed said.
Former SGB governor Gasant Abarder said parents deserved access to the report.
“As the whistle-blower to the allegations that led to the forensic investigation, I am grateful for this latest development because the parents of Golden Grove Primary need to know the truth of what is contained in that report.
“It is a pity it has come to this because these are public funds that are alleged to have been mismanaged, at best, so there can be no argument that a school community of more than 2 000 must have access to the report. How can such information, about alleged misappropriation of public funds, be regarded as confidential?"
WCED spokesperson Millicent Merton said: “The WCED acknowledged receipt of the application. In terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, the institution will decide within 30 days of receipt of the request fee whether access to the required records may be granted.”
Cape Times