By Celani Sikhakhane
The Jozini Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal’s far north is under scrutiny following a R3 million budget for matric student groceries.
The funding was meant to support learners attending after-school sessions. However, concerns have emerged as only about R500,000 seems to have been used despite the municipality allocating a much larger budget.
Several students have reported insufficiencies, claiming the groceries supplied won’t be enough to provide for the promised 96 learners.
Bongani Ngubane from Mpala High School voiced his disappointment, labelling their boot camp food allocation as “a disgrace”.
ANC chief whip in the Jozini Municipality, Sandile Sibiya, repeated these concerns, demanding a detailed breakdown of the R3 million expenditure.
“We’re questioning this decision, especially when the Department of Education is already funding a similar project,” Sibiya stated.
In response, Jozini Mayor Fananaye Mathe justified the reduced spending, stating that the full R3 million was budgeted but not entirely spent on the project.
“We saved R2.5 million, which will be reallocated to other community projects,” Mathe explained.
The mayor said that their initiative was to support matric learners who aren’t covered by standard government nutrition during after-school classes.
Mathe defended the legitimacy of the purchases, mentioning receipts from Boxer Super Store and emphasising the programme hadn’t been outsourced but managed internally through their Youth Department Office.
Highlighting the gap in services, Mathe added that the Department of Education’s school nutrition programme does not cater to learners during extended school hours.
Pictured above: Jozini Local Municipality Mayor Fananaye Mathe addresses the controversy surrounding the R3 million matric grocery initiative.
Image source: Supplied
