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EduSolutions in dodgy Mpumalanga contract: DA

The DA says it has received information that EduSolutions, the company at the centre of the Limpopo textbook saga, was also awarded a multimillion-rand tender in Mpumalanga under questionable circumstances. DA Mpumalanga leader Anthony Benadie said EduSolutions had been awarded a tender to supply and distribute pupil/teacher supply materials, including textbooks, in Mpumalanga. “According to our information, it is clear that the supply chain division in the Mpumalanga education department received and captured an EduSolutions tender document nearly a month before the bid committee awarded the contract,” he said.

“Furthermore, the DA has reliably been informed that, according to the agreement between the education department and EduSolutions, this company makes its money from being paid a percentage of the funds ‘saved’ by the department, arising from discounts afforded to them by suppliers.” Benadie said that, according to information in his possession, the department’s chief financial officer had unilaterally decided that 60 percent of all discounts provided by book suppliers would go to EduSolutions. “Reliable sources have confirmed that the CFO has classified EduSolutions as a priority debtor. To this end, EduSolutions was paid over R100 million while other debtors’ invoices, ranging from a few thousand to over R4m, continue to pile up despite being outstanding for up to five months.”

Benadie said that to get clarity on the matter the DA would submit formal parliamentary questions to Mpumalanga education MEC Regina Mhaule, asking her to divulge and explain all payments made to EduSolutions. Mpumalanga provincial government spokesman Mosia Lebona confirmed that EduSolutions was contracted by the province, but referred Independent Newspapers to the education department. Mpumalanga education department spokesman Jasper Zwane said he was in not in a position to comment and could look into the matter only on Monday.

The claims come after weekend reports that EduSolutions founder Shaun Battleman was a supporter of the Jacob Zuma Education RDP Trust. The company had contracts to buy and deliver textbooks to schools in Limpopo, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. The Limpopo contract was terminated following legal opinion that it was flawed, contributing to a six-month delay in the delivery of textbooks. President Jacob Zuma announced a high-level task team last week to find out who was responsible for the delay, and recommend steps to be taken.

Source: iol.co.za

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EduSolutions in dodgy Mpumalanga contract: DA

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