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Johannesburg - Moveable assets belonging to the basic education department have been attached after it failed to pay R28m owed to Eastern Cape teachers, the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) said on Wednesday.
"The department of education failed to implement the court order of 20 March 2014, settled in favour of the schools," LRC director in Grahamstown Sarah Sephton said in a statement.
The goods attached were valued at R1 920 000. They included over 800 computers and seven vehicles, including those used by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and her director general.
The attachment followed legal action by the LRC on behalf of a number of Eastern Cape schools seeking payment for teachers hired to fill vacancies. The LRC had asked that the teachers be appointed permanently.
Sephton said the LRC had filed a contempt of court application as a result of the department's failure to appoint and pay teachers on a permanent basis, contrary to the court order.
The contempt of court application includes the minister of education, the director general of education, and the Eastern Cape education MEC.
"They will be expected to show good cause why they should not be held in contempt of court and face jail time," she added.
Department of basic education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said the provincial education department had paid and the matter had been resolved.
