Mr Speaker, during the oversight visit to the different provinces by the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education to assess school readiness, the committee was given the assurance that everything was going well and that books would be delivered by the end of January. Unfortunately, many schools in the Limpopo province have not received their books as promised. Worse still, those schools do not have the faintest idea when their books will be delivered. In fact, they are not even sure that they will receive their books.
We are approaching the end of the first school term and some schools are forced by the circumstances to break the law and copyright laws by making photocopies for their learners. The fact that there are schools that do not even have photocopying facilities makes the situation even worse. Some provincial politicians and officials have blamed the situation on the intervention by the national government. Well, we do not believe them.
Reports that some people have changed and inflated costs on the orders, with the result that a R200 million order was changed to reflect R600 million, are even more disturbing. Azapo and the people of Limpopo would like to know who changed the prices and what is going to be done to such people.