There is conflict between the principal and the SGB at Mondeor Primary

The Southern Courier met with some of the Mondeor Primary School SGB members on July 20 and they made several allegations about conflict at the school.

Here are the allegations:

It seems there’s a conflict of authority between Mondeor Primary School’s principal Freddy Tlhavani and the SGB, at least some of the members of the SGB feel that way.

In a meeting between Southern Courier/ and some members of the SGB, it was revealed that the line is blurred when it comes to the duties of the principal and the SGB.

According to these members, the problem started when the SGB had problems with the previous principal (financial irregularities) who was subsequently released by the school.

They also mentioned that in 2018, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) recommended that the school appoints a senior person to deal with financial management at the school.

The SGB together with GDE appointed the new principal in 2019, however, alleged financial irregularities continued.

The SGB wanted a qualified treasurer to be appointed to curb financial irregularities. This is after the financial controller was suspended in October 2021. This person (treasurer) was to be placed in the financial management position at the school.

The new person assumed the position in January 2021. It is claimed Tlhavani meddled in the affairs of the incumbent so that the new incumbent was now supposed to report both to Tlhavani and the SGB.

The SGB said Tlhavani is the ex officio member of the SGB and he cannot vote or participate in the work of the SGB unless there is a stalemate. For instance when there is something that needed to be bought the financial controller needs to consult the treasurer first and then the principal.

They said on the last day of the term (June 24) they were supposed to have the hearing with financial controller present, however, they were told the facilitator is not available and the chairperson of the SGB sent a WhatsApp message informing everyone that the meeting won’t happen.

They said their job is to make the school function optimally yet Tlhavani delays the process. In a report in their possession, it was found that some staff were double paid. There are staff members who have not renewed their South African Council for Educators (SACE) membership for over five years.

A whopping R1.7m for Covid-19 was misallocated last year. There was R300 000 stolen from the school and a case was opened at Mondeor SAPS.

School vehicles and laundromats are used for personal gain.

Steve Mabona, spokesperson for the GDE, responded to these allegations:

“The department can confirm that there is a conflict between the principal and the SGB, the lines are not blurred when it comes to roles and responsibilities of the principal as is clearly outlined in Section 16A of SASA.

“However, it is some of the SGB members who do not accept his function as the principal.

“It must be noted that the principal is the accounting officer, every employee has to report to him. The allegations of financial mismanagement against the previous principal were unfounded according to GDE investigations.

“The principal is part of the SGB and he can participate in the work of the SGB. As per SASA, he must be guiding legislation, to which the SGB shows resistance. Decisions for procurement should be taken in the finance committee meetings. It is the function of the SGB to conduct disciplinary hearings, not the principal only.

“According to the principal, the hearing of June 24 did not sit because of a lack of formal communication by the discipline committee.

“The SGB is not making the school function optimally. Section 20 of SASA indicates that the SGB should promote the best interests of the school, and they are not doing that.

“The SGB is always in conflict when dealing with finances. Approximately half a million rands are spent to pay unlawfully appointed finance administrators who are carrying out overlapping tasks. The SGB handover was delayed for months due to conflicts by the outgoing SGB, but it finally concluded in October 2021.”