DA wants thorough textbooks probe

INLSA

File picture of textbooks in a Limpopo warehouse.

The Limpopo textbooks saga has to be thoroughly probed, the DA said on Wednesday.

It also called on the commissions looking into the delivery problems to leave politics out of their investigations.

Three investigations are being conducted.

The basic education department has ordered a probe by former Gauteng education MEC Mary Metcalfe; President Jacob Zuma has established a national task team; and the Limpopo government has set up its own task team.

The terms of reference of the task teams had to be clear, DA basic education spokeswoman Annette Lovemore said on Wednesday.

“The teams established to investigate the textbook crisis must identify the causes of the debacle and (this must) not be allowed to degenerate into an exercise of shifting blame to save political face,” she said.

“The DA welcomes any investigations into this crisis. The investigations must ensure accountability for wrongdoing, and all parties need to learn from mistakes so that they are never repeated again.”

Lovemore said the teams' terms of reference should include a probe into the awarding of all education tenders in Limpopo, especially those granted to the companies EduSolutions and Lebone.

“A thorough and credible investigation must be conducted soon to ensure that textbooks are delivered on schedule for the 2013 academic year,” she said.

Lovemore said she intended writing to portfolio committee on basic education chair Hope Malgas asking that the teams' terms of reference be tabled at the committee and that they provide regular feedback on their progress. – Sapa