The DA has issued a statement saying that Sadtu has finally succeeded in driving out the head of education in the Eastern Cape, advocate Modidima Mannya. This report, which is unconfirmed at the time of going to press, suggests that the South African Democratic Teachers Union, Sadtu, has achieved its goal of removing Mannya from office.
The DA has issued a statement saying that Sadtu has finally succeeded in driving out the head of education in the Eastern Cape, advocate Modidima Mannya. This report, which is unconfirmed at the time of going to press, suggests that the South African Democratic Teachers Union, Sadtu, has achieved its goal of removing Mannya from office.
Mannya, Superintendent-General of the Department of Education, has long been a thorn in the side of Sadtu, with the teachers' union demanding his removal, almost from the day he took office.
Earlier this year Sadtu members in the Eastern Cape went on a go -low strike in an attempt to exert pressure for Mannya's dismissal. The union was unhappy about long hours and poor working conditions, which Sadtu's Eastern Cape spokesperson Mncekeleli Ndongeni claimed were symptomatic of poor leadership by Mannya.
In February this year, Mannya won an important battle when a bid by senior officials to have his appointment declared irregular was dismissed in court. The application was brought by 30 suspended senior officials in his department who are affiliated to Sadtu.
Efforts to remove Mannya from office prompted Eastern Cape Premier, Noxolo Kiviet to issue a statement on 16 April expressing concern about media reports and confirming that Mannya was still the head of the education department.
Meanwhile, the Dispatch online reported that the ANC leadership in the Eastern Cape had instructed Kiviet to negotiate an exit strategy for Mannya.
