On 30 April, EFF members in the district marched to the Education Department's headquarters in Bloemfontein – the Fidel Castro Building - calling for the suspension of Moloi as the Motheo District Director, pending an investigation into allegations levelled against him of mistreatment of staff, inaction on racism in schools in his district, corruption, and sexual extortion in the workplace. Free State Education Spokesperson, Howard Ndaba, tells OFM News vaguely that officials from the department met with the EFF recently, and they have seemingly reached some kind of consensus on the matter.

“We had a very fruitful and engaging meeting. We have agreed in that meeting that we will engage further. The MEC of Education in the Free State, Tate Makgoe, appreciates the interest of the EFF in Education. But we have agreed to discuss the matter further”.

It is unknown when the parties will engage further on the matter as stated by Ndaba. Moloi, however, remains the Motheo District Director and has not been suspended.

Moloi is also being criticised for the handling of reported racism and nepotism at schools in his district. He is alleged to have insulted teachers who approached him to intervene with regards to issues. An example is made of the situation at HTS Louis Botha, where a video of a learner complaining about a teacher’s alleged use of a racist slur was distributed on social media and later garnered media attention. Radebe reveals educators in the district are not happy that the Louis Botha teacher in question is yet to be suspended. This is despite Ndaba maintaining that internal disciplinary processes have been launched.

The South African Democratic Teacher’s Union (Sadtu) in the Free State’s Provincial Secretary, Moloi Mokholoane, recently told OFM News, the department only reacts when alerted to racial tensions and as a result, they are only dealing with the symptoms of racial tensions at schools – specifically HTS Louis Botha Technical High School and Kruitberg Primary School - and not the systematic cause.  “The issue of racism is on the rise. It’s been there and is not starting to manifest now. What we think is happening, is that the department is not conducting a thorough investigation into issues of racism. There is no deliberate programme that seeks to sort out the problem,” says Mokholoane.

OFM News