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PHAKAMA EASTERN CAPE CONDEMNS ALLEGED MISAPPROPRIATION OF OVER R1 MILLION IN SCHOOL NUTRITION AND LEARNING FUNDS
Press Statement by Mzingisi Tupa
Chairperson, Phamaka Eastern Cape
Phakama Eastern Cape is deeply outraged by reports that the principal of Ulwazi High School in Mdantsane, Mr Mihlali Makhalima, has allegedly misappropriated more than R1 million intended for school nutrition, learning materials, and essential infrastructure repairs.
If proven true, this represents not only a grave act of corruption but a profound moral betrayal of the poorest and most vulnerable learners in our province. To steal funds meant to feed and educate children is to rob them of their future, their dignity, and their right to learn in a supportive environment.
According to media reports, the funds were allegedly diverted to luxury restaurants, personal purchases, and cash withdrawals, with over R450 000 withdrawn from ATMs and hundreds of thousands spent at fine-dining establishments and retail outlets. The Eastern Cape Department of Education has since confirmed the suspension of the principal and that an investigation is underway.
In a province like the Eastern Cape, where school nutrition and learning support programmes are a lifeline for thousands of learners, such conduct is unconscionable. For many children, the meal provided at school is the only guaranteed food of the day. Beyond that, learners continue to struggle with the lack of textbooks, stationery, science equipment, and other basic learning tools that are critical to quality education.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) recently raised alarm about widespread child hunger and malnutrition, particularly in the Eastern Cape, issuing subpoenas to government departments over their failure to uphold children’s constitutional right to food. This latest scandal exposes the growing neglect and decay within the systems meant to protect and empower our young people.
Phakama Eastern Cape will be writing to the Department of Education to demand urgent intervention and accountability.
Phakama Eastern Cape calls for:
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Immediate criminal prosecution of all individuals implicated, including any School Governing Body members who benefited from these funds.
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Urgent disciplinary action by the Department to ensure that any official found guilty is permanently barred from public service.
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A full-scale provincial audit of the School Nutrition and Learning Support Programmes to uncover other instances of corruption and mismanagement.
This incident is a painful reminder that corruption in education does not only steal money but steals opportunity. It is why so many learners go hungry, study without books, and attend schools that are unsafe or crumbling.
Phakama Eastern Cape stands with the parents, teachers, and learners who continue to endure these injustices. We will not allow the suffering of our children to be normalised while those in authority enrich themselves.
We call on the Eastern Cape Department of Education and Treasury to implement transparent financial oversight mechanisms, publish quarterly expenditure reports, and ensure that every rand intended for a child’s meal or classroom resource reaches that child.
The fight against corruption begins where it hurts our people the most, in our schools, our communities, and the future of our children.