JOHANNESBURG - Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has vowed to do whatever it takes to ensure that the delivery of textbooks to schools is not disrupted.
This comes amid allegations of irregularities in multi-million-rand textbook procurement.
Gwarube wrote to Treasury, calling for an investigation after News24's report exposing damning findings against Lighthouse Publishers.
The company was registered just three days after the contract was issued.
The publishers reportedly stood to gain over R200-million.
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Gwarube said she hopes to get a response from Treasury as soon as possible, but stressed that provinces still have until June to place their textbook orders.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure that there's no disruption when it comes to the delivery of textbook, particularly for the foundation phase…,” she said.
Gwarube said she could not delve into the merits of the matter, as she said she would not want to risk overstepping her role.
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However, she said her concerns centre around whether or not proper procurement processes were followed.
“If there are these allegations, I have a responsibility to act and that's what I've done,” she add.
This response comes in the back of questions that may arise about accountability within her department.
She said corruption can occur in any organisation, but what matters is what you do once those allegations have come to the fore.
“I think what sets me apart from any other ministers or predecessors before is that I have not sat and said I'm aware of this and done nothing about it. Within two hours, I was already on the phone with the Minister of Finance.
“[This is] because I want to protect the integrity of this process, because I want to make sure that the children at the end of the day receive their textbooks on time,” the minister said.
Gwarube added that if it was found that the procurement process was not above board, then law enforcement would be roped in.