By Obakeng Maje

Johannesburg-SADTU disappointed at the non-removal of the underperforming Minister of Basic Education from Cabinet.

“While we welcome the announcement of new ministers and deputy ministers by President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, we would like express extreme disappointment over the fact that the changes did not affect the Department of Basic Education” Sadtu said in a statement.

“We are aware that the President reserves the right to install ministers and deputy ministers. However, we considered that our call for Minister Angie Motshekga’s resignation would be taken into consideration due to her underperformance”.

However, Department of Basic Education lambasted the critics and departmental spokesperson Panyasa Ledufi said that minister Angie Motshekga has achieved more than enough.

“The department has achieved a lot regarding her performance. We have a target of making sure we obtain 100% matric pass rate” Departmental spokesperson Lesufi said.

Lesufi said the department made sure almost 2 million illiterate people now can write and read.

Sadtu does not want to hear any of that and said “Our call is not out of malice but concern for education in South Africa. During her tenure, Motshekga has not effectively led the process of transformation and improving the quality of life of the African child”. 

“We have witnessed, among others, the non-delivery of textbooks and infrastructure in many of our schools”.

Sadtu said they have also seen further polarization between the Department and educators – one of the main education stakeholders – due to the minister’s undermining of the collective bargaining process. “Minister Motshekga has been taken to court more than any minister. She has failed to produce a comprehensive draft on the Norms and Standards” they said.

Sadtu met with minister on May 5, 2013 and she agreed to meet a host of their demands and they would,in return, suspend all protest action. 

“A public joint statement containing an agreement on the demands as contained our memorandum was issued but it has not been implemented with the urgency it deserves in order to restore collective bargaining and provide stability in education”.

“The future of our children is seriously being undermined by the presence of the Director General who the minister is unwilling to dismiss despite overwhelming evidence of gross negligence, corruption, indolence and daylight stealing of the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) funds”.

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Pretoria – Pregnant teenager Zanele Khumalo was strangled, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has heard on Tuesday.

Pathologist Dr Lorraine du Toit Prinsloo testified the 18-year-old Khumalo was five months pregnant when she died. 

The most probable cause of her death was manual strangulation, meaning she had been strangled.

Prinsloo was testifying the trial of Khumalo’s boyfriend Thato Kutumela, 26, accused of raping and murdering her at her parents’ home in Garsfontein, Pretoria, two years ago. He has denied guilt.

In his plea explanation Kutumela said he had sex with Khumalo on the morning before her death, but denied having anything to do with her murder.

Prinsloo told the court Khumalo did not have any injuries indicative of sexual assault, but this did not exclude the possibility she had been raped.

She said it was not possible to say in what position Khumalo had been when she was strangled.

Khumalo was last seen alive on the morning of 21 April 2011.

A neighbour rushed her to hospital after her parents and sister discovered her naked body under a blanket on her bed when they arrived home after work that afternoon.

The emergency doctor who tried to resuscitate Khumalo, Dr Garry Joubert, testified the young woman was naked and wrapped in towels when she arrived at the hospital. 

She was unresponsive and had no heartbeat or pulse.

Attempts to resuscitate her were stopped when it became clear there was no blood flow and that rigor mortis had already started to set in.

Joubert said the teenager had bruises on both sides of her neck. Her family had given a history of an abusive relationship and pregnancy.

He estimated Khumalo had probably died six or more hours before arriving at the hospital. The trial continues.

– SAPA