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KZN school feeding scheme slated

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education officials were grilled by members of the provincial education portfolio committee for failing to pay food nutrition scheme contractors on time – with the politicians slamming them for destroying people’s lives. The committee heard on Thursday that some contractors were waiting as long as five months for payments, while the department still expected them to continue providing food to children at school despite non-payment. The department administers the National School Nutrition Programme for Quintile 1-3 schools in the province – schools considered under-developed and among the poorest of the poor. Education committee chairwoman, Linda Hlongwa, said they were “embarrassed” and tired of defending the department.

She said contractors should be paid within 30 days. “Why give people jobs and not pay them? Some people have lost everything, some have their cars and are now in debt (because of the department) for providing a service that they are not being paid for in time,” she said. “We are so embarrassed that you cannot even pay people on time. Wherever we go we don’t even know how we will defend you any more.” ANC MPL Jomo Sibiya said one did not have to be a financial expert to realise that the slow payment was affecting people’s lives. He said some contractors had lost their wives as a result of them failing to secure payment from the department, as a result of them failing to put food on the table. “Children are going to bed hungry,” he said.

Education MEC Peggy Nkonyeni defused the situation by apologising if the department came across as “arrogant” and said the nutrition scheme was aimed at helping not only pupils, but also emerging small businesses. “Even the (Education) Minister (Angie Motshekga) receives complaints. We have been advised to stop this programme altogether and directly allocate money to the schools, but we are aware of the dangers of that – principals will identify their friends and that’s not what we want; we want to be fair,” she said. Nkonyeni said centralising control of the nutrition programme at department level was meant to be an option that would give all small businesses a fair chance. She conceded that government could easily be taken to court because of the slow payments. “We are willing to pay on time but the cash block is a major challenge,” the MEC said. “But we need to correct our systems.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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KZN school feeding scheme slated

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