Siphofaneni head ordered to pay E24 480

LOBAMBA – Siphofaneni High School Head teacher Xolela Mxolisi Myeni will have to part with E24 480 from his own pocket.

This is after Myeni failed to convince the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the money was spent on genuine purposes for renovating the schools administration block.

The head teacher confessed before the PAC that what had befallen him was a great tragedy.

In vernacular he said: “Kwenteka inhlekelele lebudlabha.”

This was after the Gege MP, Musa Kunene-chaired committee had asked him to produce receipts of the E24 480 payments which were drawn from the petty cash account on what he had spent the money on.

Careless

Instead Myeni told the PAC that all the receipts had been destroyed after the school had seemingly hired a careless contractor to carry out the works.

He said the contractor had demolished the ceiling and other structures before they were able to move the envelopes which had all the vital information on what the money had been spent on.

Myeni said when he was posted to the school, the structures were badly dilapidated that even bats lived in the staffroom and teachers were forced to use classrooms as their staffroom.

However, the PAC was of the view that it was Myeni’s responsibility to remove all necessary documentation from the renovation site before work started. The PAC said it was good that Myeni had admitted that this was his fault.

The PAC further learnt that Myeni used to pay cheques to suppliers way above the amounts on the invoices.

For example, one Thoko Gamedze was paid E25 000 yet the invoice for school uniforms was E12 800. The PAC wondered why Myeni had drawn the cheque of E25 000 when Gamedze had only delivered about half the amount.

They wondered what had happened to the E12 200.

Myeni said Gamedze had delivered the balance of the uniforms because they were post dated.

The PAC asked to be furnished with such evidence of delivery.

Another anomaly was discovered under City Office Machines were an amount of E25 739 was paid whereas an invoice of E14 395 was furnished. The PAC said Myeni again had to explain where the balance of E11 344 had disappeared to.

Costs

“Tell your business partners that you have to repay the money because it doesn’t make sense what had escalated the costs,” said MP Kunene. It was further mentioned that the situation had been dire as goats and bats had now occupied the school.

Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane who had initially supported the head teacher, then retracted his statement as he had earlier said Myeni had found the school in a bad state.

“Gogri (a slang word for I take it back) as I know now that the cheques paid for the uniforms do not add up,” said MP Zwane.