Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Dulandi Leech MPL
The DA is outraged by the report indicating that 649 employees of the Free State Department of Education have criminal convictions. These crimes include murder, rape and drug trafficking. This is a matter of serious concern and it is alarming to think that our children are daily, left in the care of dangerous criminals.
We welcome the investigation by the department but there must be more of a proactive approach to prevent such occurrences in the first place. We will submit questions to the relevant departments to establish why this was not picked up in the initial process for the police clearance certificates, which were issued before these individuals were appointed.
Even more concerning is the fact that less than half of the target for vetting has been processed by the SAPS and submitted to the Department of Justice. By law of averages and only taking into account the 14 282 applications still pending with SAPS, we can estimate that at least another 1065 instances of cases involving illicit activity will be found. We will also approach the department to ensure that offenders who have been wrongfully appointed are removed from their positions as swiftly as possibly.
We cannot allow this situation to be dragged out and will ensure that more is done by the Free State Department of Education to guarantee the safety of our scholars.