KwaDukathole SGB accuses principal, chairperson of financial misconduct

The SGB accused the school principal, NJ Mosena, and SGB chairperson, Isaac Mokamane, of withholding information relating to the school’s finances from other SGB members.

The pair is accused of lack of transparency, transferring and withdrawing money from the school’s account without communication.

SGB treasurer Tiny Malebo said funds were withdrawn and transferred to other accounts, adding that the transactions were not accounted for, while others are unknown to her.

Receipts were never presented to the SGB, even after they were requested several times during their meetings, she added.

According to the school’s bank statement, a total of R23 572.20 was transferred from the school’s bank account to Mokemane.

At least six transfers were made to Mokemane of which three were not discussed with the SGB.

On May 5, 2021, four transfers were made to the chairperson, including R 5 000, R 7 000, R518 and R523.20. Other transfers were made on May 4, 2020, including R531 and R10 000.

Malebo indicated that the transactions that were made before their election as SGB between April 1 to May 23 were unaccounted for and do not have any invoice nor information related to them.

She said at least eight withdrawals that sum up to R256 150 were made without the governor’s knowledge.

In addition, 10 bank transfers, which sum up to R641 616, were made without the SGB’s knowledge. This included three uncommunicated transfers made to Mokemane.

She shared this raised a red flag for them.

“When the school was supposed to do the SGB handover, they were told there was no office stationery. It was decided in a meeting that an amount of R10 000 should be withdrawn to buy it.

“An amount of R3 000 was also requested to buy food for matriculants who attended on Saturdays, but the amount on the receipt was R2 100,” said Malebo.

“When Mosena and Mokamane went to buy the needed items, they withdrew an extra R10 000. To date, we do not know what the money was used for,” she said.

They pointed to the alleged mismanagement of funds as a direct challenge that led to a drop in the school’s results, as learners were expected to attend lessons in dirty classes.

“Apart from the cleaning of the school, we have problems with teaching and learning material, such as stationery and our learners share textbooks,” said SGB member Sphamandla Thulo.

“We also have a situation whereby the school does not have ink for the printer because the service provider was not paid,” Thulo explained.

“Teachers even lack whiteboard markers; hence, we believe this is the reason there is no longer improvement with the school’s pass rate because the teachers are now demotivated,” he continued.

“They are teaching in dirty classes and do not have the necessities to capacitate learners.

“If you are working in such conditions, you will eventually be demotivated. The pass rate of the school used to be around 90 to 95% but now it has dropped to 75%. This started when the allegation of mismanagement of funds rose in 2018,” said Thulo.

Mokemane distanced himself from the allegations, saying funds that were transferred to his account were used for school purposes.

“I told the SGB that it must provide proof that I am mismanaging the school’s funds, which is something I did not do because I hold supporting documents to prove otherwise. The SGB came with its own agenda because, within three weeks, it called for a motion of no confidence against me,” said Mokemane.

When asked about the challenge of transparency, Mokemane said there was no lack of transparency.

“The SGB was supposed to request documents from the school before making these allegations because the evidence is in the school’s files.

“During the stricter lockdown, we had people who came to clean the school and had to be paid. We have the day-to-day running of the school. We cannot communicate everything, like buying whiteboard markers and items that are used in the school,” he said.

In response to calls to have him removed as the SBD chairperson, he said he would step down only if evidence to support the allegations is made available.

SGB’s attempts to resolve the issue

Thulo said they have been writing to the district to request assistance with the issues at the school.

“Since our election as the SGB, we have not done anything that shows progress within the school. The school also does not have money,” said Thulo.

He said the school received more than R1-million in April.

“When we got hold of the bank statement of the school, we found transactions that we were not aware of,” he added.

The spokesperson of the Gauteng Department of Education, Steve Mabona, said the SGB elections were facilitated from April to May 2021, and it was unfortunate that a new SGB was already operating disjointedly.

“Serious allegations are levelled against the principal and as such investigations will be conducted accordingly,” said Mabona.

“However, it is important to remind SGB members that they must always strive to operate within the educational structures than resorting to the media.

“It is concerning that within three months in office, the SGB is not united and is hell-bent to operate without the principal and chairperson of the SGB, which is unrealistic,” he concluded.

Mokemane promised that he will provide Kathorus MAIL with evidence to prove what the funds were spent on. But it was not provided at the time of going to print.