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It is normal for Evaton West Primary School pupils to arrive at school wearing torn jackets and jerseys with holes in them.
This time last year, 200 children from poor households in the township, situated in the south of Johannesburg, wore anything they could lay their hands on to protect themselves from the cold because the Gauteng social development department’s sustainable livelihood programme failed to deliver their school jerseys as promised.
And it was up to teachers like Sthembile Shembe, the school’s uniform coordinator, to clean and repair damaged jerseys in the school’s storeroom to help a few children.
“We did not get any jerseys for our children last year. You know this is the poorest area. We have orphaned children and those whose parents are not employed who depend on this programme,” she said.
The programme was headed by July Maphosa, a director in the department, tasked with entering into contracts with cooperatives and private service providers.
He resigned at the end of last month after City Press started asking questions about the fraud, money laundering and racketeering charges he faces.
The charges were laid by Japhta Mookang, a former director at Moriti wa Sechaba, a nonprofit organisation funded by the department to supply food banks.
In police documents, Mookang accused Maphosa of spending taxpayers’ money on friends and girlfriends.
A source with knowledge of the sustainable livelihoods programme said the allegations against Maphosa were the tip of the iceberg.
“The sustainable livelihoods programme is a flagship programme of the office of the premier. It was launched by then premier Mbhazima Shilowa. It was a good initiative to use our mothers in the townships to manufacture school uniforms for children from poor households.”
But, the source added, senior department officials took contracts away from the cooperatives and handed them to friends.
The cooperatives still produce tunics, trousers and shirts for poor pupils, but middlemen buy the shoes, vests, underwear and socks from suppliers, and sell them on to the department.
Another source told City Press that cooperatives were not getting paid because the middlemen were not delivering on time.
City Press has seen a complaint from one cooperative that was sent in January to Gauteng Social Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza.
It alleges that the cooperative was not paid in November, even though it produced the uniforms, because the middlemen had not delivered what they were supposed to.
By January, the cooperative said, there were 500 undelivered uniforms because of non-payment, and a representative eventually went to Premier David Makhura’s office to plead their case. They were eventually paid last month.
Last week, Maphosa confirmed his resignation.
“The decision to resign was purely personal. Since last year, my family and I have been subjected to intimidation and violence. There was an attempt on my life in October.”
He said a case of attempted murder was opened at a police station and was being investigated.
“The family has now taken drastic steps by appointing specialist investigator Mike Bolhuis and his team to investigate the ongoing threats against me and my family. They are also going to investigate all allegations against me and my family. I will fully cooperate with the authorities involved,” Maphosa said.
Bolhuis confirmed he was assisting police in their investigation, and was providing security for Maphosa and his family.
Gauteng government spokesperson Thabo Masebe said a parallel process comprising of a forensic investigation conducted by Treasury was under way, and that the matter has also been referred to the Special Investigating Unit and the Hawks for investigation.
Masebe said that, even though Maphosa had resigned, the criminal investigation would continue.
“If there are any other people in the department found to be implicated in this matter, serious action will be taken against them. We will act on employees and also allow the police to investigate,” Masebe said.
