Johannesburg - The Sedibeng District Municipality local government sector education and training authority (LGSETA) bursary conundrum is believed to be headed to the provincial government.
This comes after it was alleged that the municipality awarded a bursary to the daughter of the municipality’s human resources director, Wyckliff Ramotsedisi.
The municipality’s spokesperson, Saviour Kgaswane, would not give details on the matter but indicated that the municipality was formally responding to the allegations to the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements, Urban Planning, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).
The LGSETA was established after the 2015 #FeesMustFall protests. The bursary caters for students who are interested in joining the local government sector. It is awarded on an annual basis and requires students to renew.
The Star has seen a letter from the director for Human Resources addressed to the municipal manager (MM), requesting him to approve a payment of R66 445.47 for reimbursement of bursary holders on behalf of the LGSETA.
The circular lists the names of the three bursary beneficiaries. One of the beneficiaries is Joy Ramotsedisi who is studying for a BA Financial Accounting and is said to be the daughter of Ramotsedisi. Kgaswane simply indicated that the municipality would answer to the Department of Human Settlements and Cogta.
The letter further states that: “According to information received from LGSET, they only pay out bursaries for fees outstanding with institutions, hence they only paid for the above three.”
In a statement, the DA’s Kingsol Chabalala said such bursaries are meant to be allocated to the poor and unemployed who come from underprivileged families and cannot afford tertiary education fees.
“The director for Human Resources earns a competitive and market-related salary from the municipality and can certainly afford his daughter’s tertiary education costs.
“The DA has also tabled questions to MEC Lebogang Maile at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to ascertain the policy regulations of the bursaries, whether the daughter of the director qualifies for the bursary, and to determine whether the process of awarding bursaries was transparent and fair.”
Chabalala said that should it be found that the bursary applications were not advertised, and the process was not transparent and fair, Ramotsedisi and his daughter must pay back the bursary money.
“There are too many unemployed youths in Sedibeng who are denied such opportunities to apply for bursaries because of corruption in the system. This system of patronage and nepotism must end now.”
The Star