Ministry of Education HR officers arrested for employing unqualified teachers

 

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A human resources assistant in the Education ministry is in the courts after she fraudulently recruited 31 unqualified teachers. Sibongile Mashandure, 40, appeared before Harare magistrate, Tendai Mahwe, charged with ‘Criminal abuse of office’.

She was released on $50 bail, ordered to continue residing at her present address, not to interfere with witnesses and report every Friday at CID Fraud in Harare.

 The complainant is the Public Service Commission represented by Shephered Murwisi, 51, the general manager (Human Resources and Operations).

 According to prosecutors, between October last year and February this year Mashandure connived with eight accomplices who have already appeared in court and hatched a plan to misrepresent to their employer.

 The court heard that they took advantage of their positions and intercepted letters of authority for conversion from ‘contract’ to ‘indefinite conditions of service’ for teachers who would not have fulfilled the required conditions.

 Mashandure would scan and manipulate the letters by adding other names of undeserving teachers beThe ministry would in turn dispatch the letters to the Provincial Education directors for relevant action. According to court records, Mashandure added 31 unapproved applicants for approval.

The offence came to light on March 3 this year after a performance audit and inspectorate agency in Manicaland received an anonymous letter alleging that human resources personnel at Chipinge were engaging in corruption and nepotism.

 Part of the complaint was that they manufactured fake conversion letters and illegally replaced teachers.  Mashandure was arrested on April 8 following a police report by Public Service Commission.