It is disappointing to learn that the Ministerial Task Team through the Minister of Basic Education is intending to release the MTT Report  n the selling of posts,  without responding to the concern raised by the South African Democratic Teachers Union(SADTU).
We are raising this because the rules of natural justice have not been applied in this instance.

We are also concerned about the attitude of the Minister towards SADTU, let alone the MTT Chairperson Professor Volmink.

They are the ones that came up with the schedule that must be followed in dealing with these allegations against members of SADTU yet they have completely disregarded them, to say the least.

We call upon our National Working Committee to apply for a court order compelling the MTT to respect rational procedures by responding to our representations and consider them as required by law.
We are raising this fact because we believe that many of our members will be prejudiced  as those that are sighted in this report were never afforded an opportunity to state their side of the story whether individually or collectively.

We will further encourage our members in the event that the Minister goes ahead with the release of the report to take legal action against the MTT Chairperson Professor Volmink and the Minister of Basic Education  Ms Angie Motshekga respectively.

The investigation was never about SADTU as an organization but about her members hence its only fair that members of SADTU whose names were splashed in the National and Provincial newspapers should have been given an opportunity to respond to the Draft Report not only in writing but also make oral presentation to the Task Team.

We once again wish to emphasize that as SADTU we were never involved in the selling and buying of posts whether of Principals,Deputy Principals and or HoD's. If anyone, including the MTT and the Minister, has evidence to this effect ,criminal charges must laid  against those that are found to have committed such acts of corruption.

We also wish to demand the names of those that have laid complaint against SADTU and or members of SADTU for the selling of these posts or buying them to be made known as it might happen that some of them are the ones that lost their cases in the relevant platforms whether arbitrations or Labour Court. It would have been better if the Minister and her business partner Professor Volmink encouraged those who lost their case to go for reviews in the Labour Court.

We further wish to state up front that the agenda of the monopoly capital is at play here regrettably using the Minister from the ruling party to carry the onslaught against SADTU as a trade union to tarnish her image in the eyes of the South African public.

We remain convinced that SADTU has to defend herself against this reckless Minister assisted by Professor Volmink and we are seriously  taking this challenge from the Minister and  her group of MEC's who are so excited to deal with SADTU as a trade union in the public sector.

We also call upon all members of SADTU to reject this MTT report in its current form with the contempt it deserves until fair justice is afforded to all those that are implicated in the MTT Report.

As the province of the Eastern Cape we believe that the Minister should focus in providing Norms and Standards for all our schools and post provision and norms should keep her preoccupied so as to address challenges facing education not only in the Eastern Cape but across the country so we submit.

 

Issued by SADTU Eastern Cape