UNWELL PS TELLS PAC: KA-EDUCATION SINHLALUNHLALU

LOBAMBA – A visibly unwell Ministry of Education and Training Principal Secretary (PS) Bheki Gama, told the PAC that there is no unity in the ministry.

The PS was speaking yesterday, as he was making his preamble when the ministry appeared before the PAC. The PS made this remark after the PAC Chairperson and Mhlangatane Member of Parliament (MP), Madala Mhlanga, noted with concern the state of health of the PS, who was assisted to walk and sit. Gama was also using a wheelchair to move around and did not speak with ease.  During the sitting, Mhlanga said he wanted to make it known that the PS could have delegated any of his senior officers and the PAC would have understood.
He added that they would not mind if he were to ask to be excused, because Gama’s health status was clear to everyone.

Gama told the PAC that he would sit in, but he had delegated one of the ministry’s officers, Sifiso Ndzinisa, who was sitting next to him, to respond to the audit queries. He said Ndzinisa was aware of the audit queries, as he was among the officers who had worked a couple of years in the ministry. He said also part of the delegation was the Under Secretary and Schools Manager, Lungelo Nhlengethwa, who had been in the ministry since 2020.

Affected

“I am the one who is privy to most of the issues here. The other senior officers are relatively new, but I will not speak. Ndzinisa will speak because my speech has been affected, I speak like a baby,” he said. The PS further told the PAC that among the reasons he would sit through the sessions was because there was no unity in the ministry and some officials’ mouths could not be controlled, as they might end up saying things they had not yet agreed upon. He said at the end of it all, as the substantive PS, he would eventually have to answer for all that could have been said by the officials. “I will sit in and listen if he will be saying what we sent him to say ngobaleka-education sinhlalunhlalu. I need to be here to hear and see if they are saying the right things we had agreed on. Kuhle kwenteka banhlanhlatseke, so ngibagadzile ngikhona ngitowuhlala, because at the end, I will have to answer for all the things,” he said.

Gama further shared how scary it was to appear before the PAC. He was reacting to a comment that was made by the PAC chairperson, where he urged the ministry officials to be at ease.
The PS said they were also scared to appear before the PAC, but he appreciated the auditor general, because his audits brought processes to order.  He said even those who hated the auditor general wanted to flaunt procedures and were not applying what he stipulates as per the authority given to his office.

Queries

Ndzinisa responded to the queries alone, while the other officials followed quietly. Somntongo MP Sandile Nxumalo, stated that it looked as if Ndzinisa was just thrown in the deep end, while the others looked on. He asked the senior officials to assist with the responses. The MP, as well as the PAC chairperson, said the ministry needed to organise itself and work together. The two ministry’s under secretaries, Lungelo Nhlengetfwa and Naniki Mnisi (Under Secretary Administration) were quiet next to Ndzinisa. Nhlengetfwa only spoke after the PAC asked Ndzinisa to let him respond to a matter that was touching on schools’ audits.

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